Crossing Into A Shattered Mirror
by RebootZ
Summary: Jim Kirk thought he had seen it all, but never anything like this. A universe dominated by a Terran Empire, alternate versions of himself and his crew, who are more ruthless and cold than his own. Now they are face to face with these brutal people and they have to work together if they want to save their universes. The Federation will collide with this Empire. Will only one emerge?
1. Crossing Over Part 1

Title: Crossing Into A Shattered Mirror  
Summary: James T. Kirk thought he had seen a lot of strange things in his life, but never anything like this. A universe dominated by a Terran Empire, alternate versions of himself and his crew, who are more ruthless and cold than his own. Now they are face to face with these brutal people and they have to work together if they want to save their universes. The Federation will collide with this Empire. Will only one emerge? Or can they work together to save themselves?  
Pairings: Spock/Uhura, McCoy/Marcus, Sulu/Chekov, m!Kirk/m!Spock, m!McCoy/m!Chapel, m!Sulu/m!Uhura, m!Scotty/m!Gaila, m!Amanda/m!Sarek  
Rating: M  
Warnings: Language, non-descriptive adult themes, violence (it's the mirrorverse, what do you expect?)

This chapter takes place in the mirrorverse.

Here's a little history on this mirror verse: (This follows the novel version in _The Age of the Empress, _with a few changes)

Hoshi Sato took over the Empire as Empress in 2155, after she took over the _USS Defiant_ from Jonathan Archer. Years later, Empress Sato enlists T'Pol as her right-hand and promotes her to Grand Marshal. To continue the "Sato Dynasty," the Empress cloned herself. This clone was named Hoshi Sato II (dubbed Hoshiko). As was becoming customary, Sato II ordered another clone to be created when she took the throne (Hoshimi). T'Pol still serves the Sato Dynasty and is 158 years old (She was 67 when she served on the _ISS Enterprise_).

In 2246, Empress Sato II was visiting Tarsus IV. It was her presence there that made Governor Kodos release the dangerous spore which destroyed the crops. Kodos had planned on using this devastation to hold the Empress hostage until she agreed to his demands to change the Empire for the better. She was saved by a small rebel group of children, led by James T. Kirk.

James T. Kirk was adopted by Empress Hoshi Sato II in 2246, at the age of thirteen.

Chapter One: Crossing Over

Jim Kirk gave a heavy sigh as he sank onto his bed, a small white towel hanging limply on his shoulders. He lifted the corners of the towel to dry his face, his mind racing over countless forms and signatures of approvals (or denials) that he had gone through that day. He quietly leaned back, his arms linked above his head, his spine letting out the occasional popping sound. It wasn't until his mind finally fell quiet and his body felt somewhat relaxed.

"You don't have to stay up all night you know. You can sleep too." Kirk said off-handily to the other man in the room, who was sitting straight and rigid in a chair at his desk, his eyes trained on the door to the bedroom.

"Negative," said the other man. His voice was crisp; as if he were bent on a mission and he knew the blonde man would attempt to distract him from it. The man's hands shifted almost nervously, almost methodically in his lap, his thumbs gently drawing patterns on the tips of his pointer and middle fingers.

"I do not require sleep for another 8.25 hours. Until then I must stay awake and ensure no harm comes to the Colonel."

"Spock," Jim sighed as the other man spouted his normal logical thinking about having to stay awake. Yes, Jim understood that due to Spock's unique biology he required only roughly four hours of sleep. That gave Jim plenty of time to sleep while Spock stood watch, and then return the favor before they both reported to the bridge. However, for the first time in a very long time, Jim was confident that no one would try to murder him in his sleep.

"You and I both know that I would wake up to the door to my quarters opening. I don't need you to protect me." Jim said, however Spock did not move from his vigilant spot by the entrance to his sleeping quarters. Jim resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. Spock had been like this ever since he was a child and T'Pol had taught Spock the importance of protecting ones _trensu_, master. It was nice for a while, but now it had grown tiresome. Jim had secured his position as Colonel of the _ISS Enterprise_ for over a year now.

"If you agree to stop with the guarding, I'll let you sleep in my bed." Jim said, almost as if he were bribing a small child with candy. He noticed that Spock's fingers hesitated in their movement, but resumed their meticulous pattern, a bit quicker this time. That meant that Spock was actually considering it.

"Negative, sir." Spock replied before Jim could get his hopes up. Finally giving up, Jim let out a harsh sigh and threw his used towel at the half-Vulcan poised at the end of his bed. He reveled in the surge of dark amusement that rose when Spock jumped as the towel made contact with his hands. That's what Spock deserved if he refused to listen to him.

"Hang that in the bathroom." Jim ordered flippantly as he settled back into his bed, allowing himself to relax fully into the foam pillow and mattress. He felt another spark of amusement as Spock stood dutifully and took his towel to his bathroom. Always so obedient.

"Good night Colonel." Spock said timidly as he returned from the bathroom. It wasn't until Jim gave him a grunt of recognition before he took his seat in the chair at the edge of the bed and focused his attention on the door to the Colonel's quarters.

.x.x.x.x.

"Colonel on the bridge!"

If there was such a thing as a "favorite" part of a day, Jim had to say, this was his. Everyone on the bridge standing and saluting before he even stepped foot on the bridge. It fueled his ego more than he should have allowed. He gave his most charming smile as he made his way across the bridge to his chair. He leaned himself back in the chair carefully, arranging his limbs so that he looked at ease and carefree. It was all about appearances. If he looked a little too relaxed it would encourage any moron planning mutiny to make their move. Even if he didn't think there was a threat on his ship now, it didn't take long for one to form.

"At ease," Jim barked and everyone sank into their seats. Except for Spock. Jim tried to give the half-Vulcan an exasperated look that conveyed his annoyance, but Spock stared back at him with his wide, ignorant looking eyes. He could see the doubt that crossed Spock's mind, that he had incorrectly calculated where he was needed on the bridge. Jim tried _very_ hard not to sigh. He and Spock went through this almost every shift. Spock always felt the need to plant himself next to his chair, playing the part of guard dog a little too well. Jim waved a hand at Spock, hoping that he didn't have to spell out that he wanted Spock to go to his station. After a brief hesitating moment, Spock's eyes lit up when it clicked in his mind and he strode quickly to the tactical station on the left side of the bridge.

"Colonel?"

"Yes Lieutenant Colonel Sulu?" Jim said. He loved saying that. It was the most subtle of ways he could always taunt the Asian man, reminding him that he was just one assassination away from claiming the title of Colonel for himself. As fun as it was to taunt, even Jim knew it was not the wisest of moves. Hikaru Sulu had been a stubborn pain in his ass for years on this ship, but they had fallen into a kind of truce. The man was as cunning as a king cobra, and worthy enough to always be seen as a threat, but Jim had proven that he was always one step ahead. For now, Sulu had seemed to accept Jim as his commanding officer, but Jim wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Sulu managed to kill him.

The subtle taunts weren't helping.

"We are receiving a transmission from Major Uhura." The man said, ignoring the jib. Sulu knew there was no use fighting for command yet. Jim hadn't done anything stupid enough to deserve his death, but it only took a small slip up and Sulu would slice his throat. But for now it was in everyone's best interest if they got along. After all, a crew that was always at odds with one another would not be the wisest thing to have on the flagship of the Empire.

"On screen Mr. Sulu."

On the visual screen an image of a beautiful dark skinned woman appeared. The last time Jim had seen Penda Uhura was a year ago when she was serving as his communications officer. Her hair was still short, but she had allowed her bangs to grow out since then. She had always said nothing irritated her more than someone grabbing a lady's hair in a fight, so she had chopped hers off. Somehow she still managed to look stunning without any hair.

"Colonel Kirk." She greeted with a small nod. She didn't smile at him, but she didn't have that telltale bite in her voice either. Jim took this as a good sign. He grinned at her.

"Major Uhura. Always a pleasure. How is the space station life?" he asked her. Major Uhura always had been a lively woman. After all the wounded crew members she had sent to Sickbay over the years, Jim came to see her as somewhat of a sadist. It was a shame she never seemed interested in him, he would have been more than happy to see her bedroom behavior.

"Boring, sir. There is no real struggle for command here, so nothing of interest ever happens." She said, for once the sheer boredom she felt leaking through her voice. It was true there was never a struggle on a space station. Most space stations and star bases were run by either worthless cowards, or over privileged Generals who were too old to keep fighting for their lives. In Starfleet your goal never was really to run a space station.

"That's unfortunate. Maybe you can come aboard and play with the crew once we dock." He said to her, trying his best to look relaxed. He knew all too well what that woman could do with a knife. To say he didn't shiver at the way her eyes lit up would be a blatant lie. God that woman was terrifying.

"That would be nice Colonel. We are ready for you to dock. Uhura out."

The screen cut out and Uhura's face disappeared, leaving the bridge crew to stare at the large space station. Jim nodded to Mr. Sulu, giving him the silent approval to pull them into range of the space station and dock. Without a word Sulu turned to his station and began navigating them toward the station.

"Colonel," Spock said from his station. Kirk turned lazily to him.

"Yes, Major?"

"I am picking up an unknown signal resonating near the space station." Spock said. Jim could tell from the way his fingers glided across the panel that he was attempting to figure out all the possible things that signal could be.

"Keep an eye on it Mr. Spock, you have the bridge. I expect a report on it when you dock. Mr. Sulu, you will accompany me to the space station, along with Lieutenant Chekov. Did you hear that Mr. Chekov?" Jim said, briefly pressing a button on his chair that linked with his head of security.

"Aye Colonel." The Russian voice of his young, but very dangerous head of security piped over the comm.

"Fantastic. We'll meet you in the transporter room. Kirk out."

.x.x.x.x.

Pavel Chekov hated James T. Kirk.

If you had talked to the fourteen year old Pavel Chekov, he would have insisted that James Kirk was a God among men. In the days of the Imperial Academy, Pavel had heard many things about James Kirk, all of them gave him respect for the man. He had an impressive IQ, was incredibly attractive, and had the backbone of a true leader.

Pavel Chekov had worshipped the ground that he had walked on.

Kirk had humored him for a little while. He allowed Pavel to follow him around like a puppy dog and kiss his ass. Looking back on it with disgust, Pavel realized he could have been the leader of a cult dedicated to Kirk. He had thought he had impressed the older man with his knife skills. After all, he was Russian, and everyone knew the art of killing with knives was born in Russia.

Pavel had made sure to score higher than all the other cadets in his classes, he had been more brutal than necessary in his training exercises, and his tactical prowess had been unmatched for two consecutive years. Back in those days Pavel believed that he had James Kirk were going to be an inseparable team, tearing their way through the ranks until they would one day rule the Empire.

Oh, how naïve Pavel had been. He hadn't even seen the betrayal coming.

It had been during one of their survival classes. They had been divided into two teams. The goal was to incapacitate all members of the opposing team. The instructor had been very clear about not actually wounding or maiming anyone of the opposing team. The punishment would be unbearably painful.

Pavel and Kirk had worked as a fantastic team. A two-man division inside their team that made their way around the field, stunning one cadet after the other. Pavel had been so focused on how they would spend their victory together; he hadn't noticed the enemy cadets sneaking up behind him. He hadn't noticed just how far away Kirk had gotten from him. It took a moment for it to register that they had grabbed him and were dragging him into the underbrush.

After his instincts kicked in, Pavel had quickly taken down two of the cadets, but that did nothing to help him. There were too many of them. He hadn't panicked until he saw one of the cadets - Hendorff he thought it was – level his phaser right in front of his face. It was then that he had called out for Kirk, hoping his teammate would whip around and come to his rescue, and then pick him up and brush the dirt off him as if they were friends.

_As if._

Hendorff had just smiled at him.

"You think you're special don't you? That he would protect you at all costs? Sorry kid, you've got a lot to learn. This is a message from the boss himself. 'In the eyes of a Leader, everyone is expendable.'"

And as the realization hit and the tears began to well up behind his eyes, Hendorff had pulled the trigger on his phaser.

As Pavel later found out, it didn't matter that the phaser had been set on stun, a phase shot to your eye no matter the setting could rupture the optical tissue in your eye, leaving you almost blind. And as Pavel stepped into the turbolift, next to a Yeoman whose name he didn't know, the cold knot of hatred he felt in his gut for James Kirk reared its head as out of the corner of his good eye, he saw the Yeoman's look of surprise and the quick way she ducked her head to avoid looking at him.

Pavel had seen what his damaged eye looked like. He couldn't blame the Yeoman for turning away. His damaged eye never actually focused on anything, it just sat in his eye socket, occasionally titling slightly up or down. The tissue had turned a pale grey as if it had been touched by death itself. The only thing that made it truly something to cringe at was the scar tissue around his lid. There were streaks of raised, red scar tissue from where the Doctors had sliced open his skin with laser scalpels to try and save his eye. It had been no use. The second the phaser had been discharged was all it took to damage all the tissue in his eye.

Who would have thought he would look like a war veteran at seventeen?

He sighed as he exited the turbolift, leaving the Yeoman to relax, and entered the Transporter Room. If Lt. Colonel Sulu hadn't been in the room, Pavel wasn't sure he could have resisted the urge to fling a throwing knife in the Colonel's direction. Instead, he took a deep breath, stepped on the transporter pad, and ordered Ensign Kyle to beam the three of them to the space station.

.x.x.x.x.

Lieutenant Uhura was waiting for them.

"Colonel Kirk," she greeted, lifting her arm in a salute. The Colonel returned the gesture, while Lt. Colonel Sulu and Lieutenant Chekov laid their fists over their chests and gave her a slight bow.

"Captain Decker is awaiting you on the bridge sir." Lieutenant Uhura said, exiting the transporter room. Kirk managed to suppress a grin and followed her, Sulu and Chekov right behind him. When they arrived on the bridge, Captain Decker was already standing to greet them.

"Colonel," Decker greeted, his face stony.

"Captain Decker," Kirk replied, an easy grin on his face. "I haven't seen you since the Academy."

Decker gave him a stiff nod. Jim could understand why Decker was angry. They had shared many classes at the Academy, and Decker was definitely a valuable man, not just another body that could barely pass for a security officer. If Jim remembered correctly, Decker had been a top student on the Science track, with a very impressive Command sub-track. He wondered briefly who he had pissed off in order to land him on a space station and as a captain no less. After all, no one ever _wanted_ to be assigned to a star base or a space station. Although Kirk didn't think that Decker had even wanted his own ship. The man had always seemed to want a lab to himself. Oh how people change.

"So, where are the artifacts?" Kirk said. _Enough with the pleasantries_, he told himself. He honestly tried to be nice to people sometimes, but it never actually got him anywhere.

The _ISS Enterprise_ had received orders to swing by this tiny little space station and pick up a valuable artifact that had been intercepted and removed from a ship that was smuggling goods, and bring the artifact back to Headquarters on Earth. They had received that transmission a month ago.

Apparently the urgency on that grew higher and higher as more freighters were confiscated and more artifacts were found. In the briefing the artifacts had been described as a broken puzzle. It was clear that some of the pieces fit together, but there were so many more that would be needed to complete the entire thing. And who knows how many of the pieces had already crossed the neutral zone?

Kirk followed Decker to the turbolift, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov trailing behind them.

"We have found thirteen pieces so far. Some of them are very large, and others are very small. It was a miracle that we figured out they were all parts of something bigger. Unfortunately we have no idea what this thing is. It's early 22nd century tech. possibly from the rein of the first Empress Sato. I assume that is why our current Empress Sato is ordering for its return?" Decker asked, not really expecting a response.

"I have not spoken with the Empress about why she wants these artifacts. It is not my place to ask her, and neither is it yours." Kirk responded icily. It was true that he didn't know why the Empress wanted these artifacts, as she had not confided in him, which was strange, as she always told him her plans. He was practically her son after all.

After the incident on Tarsus IV with Governor Kodos trying to force the Empress into listening to him (which was comical) and Jim and his band of child rebels had stormed the palace, inadvertently saving the Empress. He tried to explain later to the Empress that he had only been trying to find food for the younger children, he had no idea at the time that the Empress was even on the planet, and otherwise he would have come straight for her.

Most of the day was a mess of random memories, most of which he didn't bother to remember, but he did recall the fear he felt when the officers hand told him he was leaving with a Vulcan woman named T'Pol. T'Pol had had streaks of grey running through her golden brown hair, but her expression was fierce enough to have Jim shivering. He had screamed and kicked so much they had to knock him out. When he woke up he was locked in bio-bed and T'Pol had explained that she was taking him to live with the Empress. Of course Jim hadn't believed that until he saw the Empress herself again, leading him into her Palace in Kyoto.

From that day on he had been her personal soldier, kept from public knowledge of course. He never wanted anyone to say that he had gotten where he was merely because of his relationship with the Empress.

He and Captain Decker stood in silence for the rest of the turbo lift.

.x.x.x.x.

"Fascinating," Spock said breathlessly. He had arrived in lower lab of Space Station Alpha-3 approximately 1.35 minutes ago. After the ship had been successfully docked in the stations port, Spock had received orders to report to the lower lab to inspect a series of artifacts. He was not sure what he had expected to find, but it was not this.

He and Lieutenant Commander Chekov had been assigned the task of finding out just what these artifacts were.

"Based on the design and material," Chekov said, gazing intently at a cube like artifact on one of the tables. "I vould say it's from the mid-twenty first century. Although you vould need an expert to verify, I can only make an educated guess."

Spock's thumbs drew slow circles on the pads on his pointer fingers as he quickly verified the Lieutenant Commanders observations. "There is a 74% chance that Commander Chekov's observations are correct based on the variables that he has provided."

"Thanks for that, Test Tube." Major Uhura sneered in the half-Vulcan's direction. Spock stared at her with wide eyes, lifting his eyebrow slightly. There was a pause.

"I do not understand." Spock said finally, still staring intently at the woman, who let out a sharp laugh. She looked at him, a grin on her mouth, and her eyes dancing wildly with amusement. It made Spock uncomfortable.

"You really are retarded, aren't you? You can't even tell when someone is insulting you!" she said, laughing almost hysterically. Spock noticed that Commander Chekov's lips lifted in a similar grin, chuckling to himself. Lt. Colonel Sulu also let out a huff of a chuckle. Spock did not understand what they found humorous.

"I do not suffer from mental retardation," Spock said somewhat timidly, trying to defend himself, although he was not sure what against. It was that moment, when Major Uhura laughed sharply again, shaking her head at his ignorance that he reached far into the back of his mind where Jim's mind sat quietly, away from his. Spock felt small when he couldn't understand what people said to him. Spock knew he was different. Grand Marshal T'Pol had insisted it was due to his unique biology. Sometimes he did not believe she was correct in her assumption.

Spock groped aimlessly in the back of his mind, but Jim had firmly shut him out. Jim said it was impossible for him to think when his mind mingled with Spock's. Spock's brain had no order, he said. It was like being trapped in Wonderland, nothing was ever as it appeared. Spock didn't know where Wonderland was, but he knew he felt very small when he was by himself. It upset him. He didn't like to be upset. He turned back to the artifacts and focused solely on them. He decided not to acknowledge Major Uhura any further.

His thumbs were moving quickly over the pads of his fingers in a meditative rhythm. He was attempting to block out the sound of her voice while also attempting to calculate an accurate year that the artifacts could have been produced. The task was proving to be difficult. Spock began quietly muttering to himself to drown out her voice.

"Artifacts are made from an unknown mineral. Shapes vary. Purpose of the artifacts is unknown…" Spock continued his muttering, listing every variable and fact he knew about these objects to help his mind form a possible solution. Information was good. He had to put his thoughts in order, to make sense of things. He tried very hard to make sense of things.

.x.x.x.x.

Unproductive.

That was how Colonel James T. Kirk saw this prolonged mission. He had more than happy to simply order Captain Decker to pack up the artifacts and turn them over to the _Enterprise_, but Spock had insisted that the pieces of the mysterious artifact not be moved until more information had been obtained about them. Spock confided to him quietly about wanting to stay on the space station to work on the artifacts as a project.

Normally Jim wouldn't have indulged Spock. He rarely gave into the half-Vulcan. Jim had learned very early on that Spock managed to pull at heart strings that he didn't know he had, and so he had made it a point not to give into any of the hybrid's pleading. Unless it actually served a purpose, then he would keep silent for as long as he could just to watch Spock squirm anxiously.

He was all but ready to tell Spock that he could play with his new toy when they returned to Terra, he would have preferred it that way. He knew that Decker didn't like him one bit and staying here longer gave Decker more time to do something stupid.

But when Chekov had also expressed concern over moving the artifact, his hand was forced as it wasn't just selfish Vulcan pleading at that point.

Jim knew that Spock didn't always have a logical reasoning for the things he did, in fact understanding anything that happened in Spock's head was a challenge all in itself. But this time Spock _was_ being logical, and if not for the Russian Navigator, Jim would have simply ignored it like he always does.

"Colonel," the navigator had spoken very promptly as he interrupted what Spock had to say to Jim about the artifacts. "If I may, the Lieutenant has a point. Ve don't know what zese are, and ve don't know how they are activated. Ve could be bringing a bomb right onto ze _Enterprise._"

It was only because Jim had been tired of arguing about the issue, that he had spared Chekov from the agony booth.

"Fine." He had snapped at both of them. "We'll stay here until we can know for sure if moving them will cause any danger to the _Enterprise._ Mr. Sulu, I want this entire section locked down. Only approved officerwill be allowed through." Jim said to his First Officer, who nodded swiftly and began laying in the proper protocol to the mainframe.

Jim began to rattle off those who were allowed access to the lab and specific identification protocol he wanted initiated for those trying to get into the lab. Complete bio-scans and assigned clearance. Jim was not looking forward to calling in the decision to the Empress. He wasn't one to ignore orders, but he wasn't about to put his ship at risk. He hoped she understood that.

.x.x.x.x.

Jim sat impatiently at his comm.

He had left Sulu in charge of Spock and Chekov on the station and had returned to the ship. He was currently waiting for his transmission to be answered. Jim hadn't talked to the Empress in months unless it was a simply written message relaying messages. He almost felt bad about going so long without seeing her.

As he waited, Jim thought back to the day that he had met Empress Hoshi Sato II.

It had been during the Tarsus IV crisis. He had led an ambush on Governor Kudos's mansion to retrieve food for his small tribe of children. They had been half starved and delirious. Jim hadn't even seen the Empress until he had taken out three guards. He remembered the look on her face oh so well.

Her eyes had been wide and her jaw slack. She had been lounging in a less than comfortable seat, at a table filled with plates of food. If he hadn't been scared into shock by the Empress' appearance, he would have been hoarding food from the table like the others. When the moment had passed, the Empress had a pleased smile on her face.

"My hero," she had said, the laugh all too evident in her voice. Then Jim had opened his mouth and unleashed a torrent of incomprehensible babble.

("_I'm so sorry..would have saved you first…so hungry…they're dying…")_

And at the weakest moment in Jim's life, this woman who was supposed to be tyrant, a being capable of feeling nothing, had wrapped her arms around Jim and had let him cry all over her gown. To this day he still felt a little embarrassed by that.

"Hello Jim."

Jim jumped and looked to his view screen. He was not expecting to see an older Vulcan woman. He nodded his head to her.

"Grand Marshal T'Pol," he greeted formally. T'Pol arched a delicate eyebrow at the formality, but did not comment.

"What do you require?"

"I request to speak with the Empress regarding the artifacts."

"She has already told you your mission. She will not reveal any more details."

"My apologies Grand Marshal, but I cannot move them."

"Why?" T'Pol's voice was hard. She may have been a Vulcan, and she may have helped raise him, but the woman did not deal with bullshit. For a moment Jim thought she might be able to reach through the comm. screen and slap him behind the ear like she had done when he was a child. He suppressed a shiver.

"Spock believes if the artifacts are moved it could prove hazardous to the _Enterprise_. He is requesting time to further study them." It wasn't a lie. Ok, he shouldn't have just _hurled_ Spock under the bus like that, but what the hell. T'Pol had always had a soft spot for Spock anyway. Even if he were punished, he wouldn't bleed.

There was a pause.

"How much time?" T'Pol finally asked, her lips pursed.

_I knew it._ Jim thought briefly patting himself on the back.

"Unclear," Jim said. "I can keep you updated as Spock works, you know him once he starts, but as of right now, I can't even give you an estimate." Now _that_ was all truth. If you could hand Spock an equation with only one variable, it was very likely that Spock could solve it within minutes. Hell, if it hadn't been for Spock, Jim wouldn't have been able to cheat the Kobiyashi Maru. That was the first time Jim had ever seen Spock's brain completely dedicated to a problem, but damn had he finished it quick. It was no wonder that Jim had enlisted him as his Tactical Officer.

T'Pol sighed heavily, and when she looked at him, he didn't see a woman to be feared, but a woman who was beaten down. It was then he noticed the slim streaks of copper that had always gave her a wise and exotic look had gotten even slimmer, paling rapidly into silver. The crease in her brow was as deep as the bags under her eyes. How the hell did he not notice it until now?

"Jim, I do not know _why_ the Empress wants those artifacts, but she wants them. _Soon._" T'Pol held up her hand as Jim opened his mouth. He sighed and closed it. No room for discussion then. "Jim, something is happening here. I'm not sure what it is. Perhaps it is merely another power struggle," T'Pol grimaced. "But it is unsettling."

"Hoshimi?" Jim asked. T'Pol gave a solemn nod.

"She is eager for the throne," T'Pol said. "But the Empress refuses to step down. She does not believe Hoshimi is ready."

Hoshimi was the third Sato clone in the Sato Dynasty. Hoshi Sato I declared that when a Sato took the throne, she would create a clone (made from the DNA of the first), so that incase of her unlikely demise, there would be a successor.

Hoshiko, who was called Hoshi Sato II after she took the throne, hadn't created a full grown replica, but had a cloned embryo created instead. This embryo was raised as Hoshimi, the one to take the throne after Hoshiko died.

The first time they had met, Jim had only been in the Kyoto Palace for a week, and he had been told he was to take private classes with the Princess Hoshimi. 'Preparation for ascension to the throne' T'Pol had said. At the time, he had no idea he was being trained to lead an Empire, but Hoshimi did. The first time they met face to face she had slapped him so hard his lip had split_._ She had stuck her nose up at him and stormed away, declaring she would not associate herself with a common 'farm peasant.'

If Jim could go back in time, he would go back to that moment and tell his younger self "Hey don't worry, in two years from now, farm peasant or not, she'll be begging you to fuck her brains out every chance she gets."

Ah, being a horny teenager in that Palace had been fantastic.

But all vulgar jokes aside, Jim had seen many times firsthand what Hoshimi was like when she was angry. The first time he had made a joke about them being just fuck buddies she had tried to smother him with a pillow.

"You know, one day I'm going to be the Queen of an entire Empire!" she had snapped at him once she removed the pillow and allowed him to breath. As he had laid there gasping in air, the black edges at his vision slowly receding, he had only thought _what the fuck did I get myself into?_

"And you," Hoshimi had cooed at him, a complete change from the psychotic sociopath who had just tried to smother him with a damn pillow. "Can either be just another conquest, or you can be my King."

That was when Jim had finally declared he wasn't listening to his dick anymore.

Nevertheless, he had played her game, swearing his allegiance to her as she rode him, or calling her 'My Queen' when he came. He knew she had no plans of sharing a throne with him, just as he had no plans to share with her.

"What can I do?" he finally asked T'Pol. She looked at him long and hard for only a moment, then shook her head.

"There is nothing for you to do. We will wait. They have had their fights before. I have heard it is common for mother's to fight with their children. Especially the daughters."

Jim shivered at that word. _Mother_. It brought so many feelings with it, Jim wasn't sure what to do with them.

"I will give you two days," T'Pol said, interrupting his thoughts. "After that, I will require a detailed report and a formal request for more time if you feel you need it."

Jim nodded. "Thank you T'Pol."

She nodded back. "Get back to your men. I would not trust Captain Decker with them."

"By the way," Jim question curiously. "What did he do to get himself assigned to a space station out in the middle of nowhere?"

T'Pol arched her eyebrow at him again. "He was caught having inappropriate relations with Princess Hoshimi. As a punishment, more to Hoshimi than to Mr. Decker, he was promoted to Captain and transferred to Space Station Alpha-3."

Jim bit back a chuckle. "Oh."

"Indeed." T'Pol agreed, lifting her hand in a common Vulcan gesture. "Live long and prosper."

Jim returned the gesture as best he could. He could never quite get his pinky finger to stay next to his ring finger. "You too T'Pol."

And the transmission was cut. Time to see if Spock had made any progress.

.x.x.x.x.

Spock didn't think he was stupid.

He had scored highest in his class in every one of his Academy classes, he had assisted Colonel Kirk in hacking the Kobiyashi Maru, and he could predict variables and produce theories in record timing. He was not stupid.

However, he deduced that Major Uhura thought his intelligence lacked. Somehow, he had not provided her with sufficient evidence of his intelligence, despite reporting all new theories and information about the artifacts. She gave him the exact same look each time, it was exacerbated and irritated. She accepted his reports and shooed him away. If he did not move after 2.3 seconds, she would snap at him and order him away.

She thought he was not intelligent.

Jim had reassured him on several occasions that he was not stupid, but very intelligent. Spock did not understand why Major Uhura thought he was stupid. He huffed silently to himself at the illogic of humans as the Colonel walked in.

"Ok kids. What have we learned?" the Colonel asked briskly. Major Uhura spoke up.

"Lieutenant Spock and Commander Chekov have gathered basic data on what the artifacts could be related to. Here's the report."

Colonel Kirk took the outstretched PADD and made his way to the large table where the artifacts were laid out, Spock and Commander Chekov working their way around the table.

"Ok Spock," the Colonel addressed him, his eyes focused on the slim PADD. "What do we have here?"

"There is an 84% chance that the artifacts are made from a mineral called _Amphillicite_, a rare earth element that has an atomic weight of-"

"Amphillicite? Never heard of it." Kirk interrupted. Spock felt an irritated nudge in his mind, as if the Colonel were telling him to skip the technical information. Spock understood.

"_Amphillicite_ was a rare element in the 21st century. By the 22nd century it was extinct. No other sources report Amphillicite being produced since then. This tells us an estimate of when the artifacts were created. The probability of Amphillicite being produced naturally is 0.02% this implies that the amount of mineral that was used to create these artifacts was manmade. This eliminates many variables. Commander Chekov is currently searching for high usage in Terra's history."

"Well, Mr. Chekov?"

"The production of artificial Amphillicite spiked in 2098, and the production ended in and use of Amphillicite was banned in 2133, 35 years after the spike. All other information related to the production and the banning of the mineral are all locked and marked as classified."

"Interesting." Kirk pondered to himself as he thought about the mysterious mineral. A mineral that was mass produced and banned in 35 years? "It must have been a dangerous mineral if it was only used for that short amount of time."

"Based on the elemental structure and atomic weight," Spock spoke up. "I do not believe so. It is not radioactive, nor does it hold any poisonous trace elements. There is no obvious reason why this mineral would be banned." Spock huffed finally, showing his irritation. As Mr. Chekov had previously stated, all major information about the mineral had been locked. Spock did not have enough variables to form a reliable hypothesis. He tried to relay his feelings to the Colonel, but he got no acknowledgement of it.

"Mr. Spock, compare Amphillicite to all other rare Terrain elements used between 2098 and 2133 and inform me of what they were used for."

Spock immediately turned to a touch screen computer placed next to the table. His finger began to dance across the sensitive surface looking for anything that was similar. More variables, he needed more variables.

"Colonel," Major Uhura spoke. "I've studied the shapes of these artifacts, and it's almost as if they are a message. Some of the pieces when you put them together," as an example she slid a small piece about the size of a PADD next to a larger piece twice the size. "The markings on them seemed to line up."

"This specific one," Uhura continued. "Looks to be Andorian from this angle. But if you turn it like this," she said, turning it to the left. "Then it resembles Romulan. It's the same with everyone of the pieces that match up with each other. It's supposed to build something. I can't tell if it's a message or it they are instructions on how to build it. It's a jumbled linguistic mess."

"Any idea on what someone would want to build using Amphillicite?" the Colonel asked, his eyes trained intently on the words that were forged on the sides of the smooth metal.

"Amphillicite is similar to two elements in atomic structure and weight, but only one of those two were used in our timeframe." Spock spoke, his thumbs rhythmically tapping his fingers. "That element was used mainly in the growing Terrain military against the rebel Vulcans of the time period. At the time, there were many military projects that were focused on time travel. Flourentite, the element that shares properties with Amphillicite, was mainly used on time travel projects."

"Wait, Amphillicite could have been used for time travel? This could be a time machine?!" Chekov nearly yelled. His eyes were bright with excitement. "That would explain why so much is classified."

"Well, how high clearance are we talking here?" Sulu said. "I mean, we have a Colonel's clearance. If that isn't enough, what is?"

"If the clearance is too high, I wasn't here." Major Uhura piped up, her hands still playing with artifact pieces. Sulu gave her a small smile while the Colonel snorted.

"It's Grand Admiral clearance," Chekov said, his voice dying in his throat. "This might be getting serious."

"Can you hack it?" Colonel Kirk asked suddenly, looking at Chekov. The younger man spluttered for a moment before answered.

"You want me to hack into a Grand Admiral's-"

"Fine. Spock, hack into a Grand Admiral's mainframe and hack the files on Amphillicite."

"I can do it!" Chekov snarled as Spock turned to his computer. After fixing Kirk with a glare that could kill, he whipped back around to face his touch screen desk and began to hack into the mainframe. He tried to ignore that his fingers were shaking with rage. He hated Kirk, and he hated that damn number crunching, mutant Vulcan. It wasn't just Kirk. Kirk he learned to live with. But that Vulcan, or half-Vulcan as it were?

_He thinks he isn't inferior just because he is half-human_, Chekov thought bitterly to himself. _But he's wrong. He's just as worthless as a full-blooded Vulcan. They are not Terrain, and so they are lesser beings. How dare that pointy-eared little shi-_

_Oh let's just face it,_ a voice in his head piped up. It irritatingly enough sounded exactly like Kirk. _He can run numbers through that Vulcan brain of his and think of ten different theories before you think of one. He pisses you off because you _know_ you are inferior to_ him.

Chekov paused and took a deep breath. He swore to himself at that moment, if he didn't get court marshaled for this, he was going straight to Doctor Chapel and requesting she put him in for psychological help. Even he knew that hearing voices in your head wasn't a good sign. Especially if the voices sounded like the person you hated the most.

"Don't worry Chekov," the real Colonel Kirk spoke. "We're in a space station. We'll just blame it on Decker or something. It's a whole station of scapegoats." He said grinning to himself.

_I'm sure, you bastard. Everyone is expendable to you aren't they?_

Chekov nodded and continued to work his way through the mainframe until he successfully pulled up the Amphillicite files. He almost wasn't going to forward a copy to Spock's temporary station, but he decided being shoved in an Agony Booth for upward of two hours wasn't worth his moment of spite.

He wordlessly transferred the files. He glared hard at the back of the Vulcan's head as he hurriedly opened the files, slowly turning each line into a variable, creating a new strain of theories with each variable. The knot of hate in his stomach grew.

"Colonel, Captain Decker is requesting to speak with you. He says its urgent." Major Uhura said, her comm. piece in her ear. The Colonel nodded at her.

"When I come back, I want to know what this thing is." Kirk said sharply, turning on his heel and exiting the lab. He didn't wait for a response.

.x.x.x.x.


	2. Crossing Over Part 2

This chapter takes place in the normal universe.

(Also, did anyone catch the Fringe reference?)

Note: I apologize for any confusion between the two versions of the characters. I tried to make sure there was no confusion when I wrote this, but just in case, I apologize.

.x.x.x.x.

"What the hell is Amphillicite?" Jim asked, looking over Uhura's shoulder at her PADD.

"It is a rare Earth element. It takes millions of years for the Earth to create even a small amount of it, so it was never really useful. Just another mineral on the Periodic Table." The Lieutenant said as she moved her fingers over the screen of her PADD to zoom in on the photo of an Amphillicite specimen.

"So if it's so rare, and it was never used to mass produce things, where the hell did these things come from?" Jim asked, looking at the various black artifacts laid out on the table.

"It is only logical to assume this Amphillicite is man-made, a mere imitation of the real thing." Commander Spock spoke from his side of the table, intently studying one of the pieces.

"Still, zat doesn't explain vhy. Vhat is it?" Chekov spoke, his eyes darting across a screen that listed everything known about Amphillicite.

There was no reply from anyone in the room. The only sound was the soft scraping noise as Spock stood sliding one piece against another like two broken pieces of a puzzle.

"Alright, well for now I'm calling official shore leave," Jim said, stretching his arms above his head. "I'm sure Scotty will love the alone time with the Warp Core." Jim said, sending a joking smile to his communications officer.

Shaking her head she turned to her console. "I'll relay the message sir. Shore leave is official."

"Fantastic." Jim said, moving closer to his first officer. "What do you think Spock?"

"I think shore leave will be beneficial for the crew's moral-"

"I meant about the artifacts Spock," Jim correctly gently, grinning at his half-Vulcan first officer who cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Indeed. I believe these are pieces to something much larger. Perhaps something relatively the size of an average human. Assuming these are all the pieces." Spock said, his eyebrows pinching together slightly.

"You think there are more?" Jim said. There were at least twenty Amphillicite (or Amphillicite-like) artifacts laid out on the table. Spock had managed to piece together three of the pieces to form a sort of tripod like base.

"That is unclear. Based on the size of the base, the contraption cannot be very large, but there are not many pieces here." Spock said. Jim noticed he was frowning in that very subtle, Vulcan way. That could only mean that Spock was actually _stumped_.

"Captain, Commander Scott is requesting to speak with you." Uhura piped up from her station. Kirk nodded at her, but turned back to Spock.

"If you learn anything else, I want you to let me know immediately. If there is anyone who can figure this out, it's you." Jim said, clapping his hand on the other man's shoulder in as a reassurance before moving towards an empty terminal. He quickly opened a link with the _Enterprise._

"Yeah Scotty?" Jim said into the comm.

"Captain," Scotty's voice crackled a moment. "I'm pickin' up some very strange readin's around tha' station. How's it lookin' down there?"

"Everything down here seems to be working fine." Jim said, glancing at the screens and readouts around him. Everything in the lab seemed to be functioning just fine. "What kind of readings?"

"I dinna yet sir. I'm just hopin' it doesn't interfere with the transporter. I got a lot o' people eager for a shore leave." Scotty said.

"Ok Scotty, keep an eye on it and keep me posted. Start beaming down the crew when you think it's safe."

"Aye, sir. Scotty out."

Jim cut the comm. link. Damn was he exhausted. The finding of these rare artifacts had caused quite a commotion with Starfleet. After what happened with Admiral Marcus and Khan, Starfleet was even more paranoid. Their first concern had been that this was a weapon created by the Klingons or the Romulans and they had snuck it over the neutral zone.

The science team aboard Alpha-3 had been quick to assure the Admirals that it was not a weapon. In fact, it didn't seem to have any defensive or offensive purposes. In fact, no one could tell what it's purpose was. Never the less, _Enterprise_ had been sent to the space station to assist with the artifacts and discover their purpose.

"I just wanted to explore space," Jim sighed to himself.

"Oh, poor baby." Spoke a gruff voice behind him. Jim smiled and turned.

"Bones! Nice to see you've come out of your Sickbay long enough to join the living. What the hell are you carrying?"

"My equipment," piped a very feminine voice laced with a British accent. Carol Marcus appeared next to the Doctor, carrying a box of her own. "I assumed you would want a weapons expert down here, and the good Doctor was kind enough to give me a hand." She said smiling as she strode past them to an empty table on the other side of the room.

"'The good Doctor' huh?" Jim said, fighting the urge to leer at his best friend.

"Don't even think about it, kid." The Doctor said, glaring at the younger man. Jim would have almost been intimidated if it hadn't been for the deep blush working its way up the Doctor's neck. Jim instead bit the inside of his cheek to curb his grin and allowed the doctor to follow the blonde woman across the room. It was nice to see Bones loosening up. Although, he guessed the near-death experience with the torpedoes had given the older man a wakeup call. And if Bones thought Jim hadn't noticed how often he and the lovely Carol Marcus seemed to 'run into each other,' he was unfortunately mistaken.

"They are kind of cute, aren't they?" Lieutenant Uhura whispered to the Captain. She too was watching the two Doctor's as they unloaded the boxes with scanners and other equipment Doctor Marcus had thought necessary to bring. Jim snorted and shared a laugh with her.

"I mean, there is no way she needs half of those things. I've counted two internal scanners." Uhura laughed softly. She had to say, she liked Carol Marcus. She couldn't fathom why Spock still had such an aversion to the woman. Even now, when she got too close to him, Spock would give the blonde doctor the Vulcan equivalent to a death stare.

"He's just mad because she happens to be a science officer as well." Jim said, noticing the Vulcan death glare just as easily as Uhura had. The communication's officer raised an eyebrow at him with a grin on her face.

"Vulcans don't get 'mad' Captain," she scolded lightly. He felt no shame in snorting. They both knew how untrue that was. Although, maybe 'mad' was the wrong word. Jealous, maybe?

.x.x.x.x.

"We've been at this for hours," Sulu groaned as his head slipped off the heel of his hand and smacked into the desk he had been leaning on. "I thought this was shore leave?"

"Yeah, I did say that, didn't I?" Jim said, rubbing his own tired eyes. Here it was, hours later and they knew nothing more now than they did when they started. Although, Spock had managed to piece together quite a few of the pieces. Jim gazed tiredly at what remained of his 'away team.' Carol and Bones had retired about an hour ago, the doctor grumbling all the way. Jim had indulged himself by watching the two of them leave, and was disappointed when they seemed to go separate ways.

Chekov was sound asleep next to Sulu, who had his eyes trained on his PADD, but the lack of eye movement gave him away. As well as his head hitting the desk. Unless Jim was mistaken, it was the navigator who was snoring softly. Uhura had been pacing about the room, refilling her coffee cup a half a dozen times in the past hour. She kept walking past Spock, who was the only one who seemed truly focused at all, and gazing half-heartedly at the work table where Spock was layering artifact after artifact on one another. Jim had no idea what Spock could be building.

"Ok, how about we all call it a night? We clearly are in no shape to do anything but sleep." Jim said, a yawn consuming his sentence as his body demanded sleep. Uhura immediately downed the last of her coffee, and moved to Spock, speaking to him quietly. Sulu began to prod the sleeping Russian next to him, but it seemed with no luck. After a moment, the Asian man sighed to himself and simply picked the smaller man up and began carrying him out of the room. Jim gave him a smile and a nod as if to say 'See you in the morning.' Although, in reality Jim had no idea what time it even was. He himself began to stretch and rise from his seat when he noticed Uhura still talking to Spock.

"I will join you momentarily. Vulcans do not require-"

"Nearly as much sleep as a human, I know Spock." She said, almost too tired to even put up a fight. Never the less, she really didn't want to sleep alone. She always felt safer with Spock in the room, even though she logically knew that there was no danger. It was one of the few small things she allowed herself to indulge on, but Spock seemed too intrigued with the thing he was building. At least he seemed to notice.

"I do not mean to upset you Nyota. However, I do believe that I am getting closer to understanding what this machine was made for."

"And what would that be Mr. Spock?" Jim asked. He hadn't really been eavesdropping, he had just wanted to make sure they weren't fighting. They were both always so calm and composed, it was hard to tell when they were fighting and when they were happy. But now that work had been mentioned…

"I do not have any conclusive theories at this moment, Captain. Until I do, I do not wish to 'jump the gun' as you often say."

"Oh," Jim said. At this point he was almost as tired as the Lieutenant. He spared her a look. She sighed and shook her head. Ignoring both her captain and Spock who was paying no attention to either of them, she leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on the Vulcan's cheek. This captured his attention momentarily and he allowed himself to share a gaze with her. She smiled softly at him and turned and made her way toward the sliding doors. Jim began to follow her.

"Hey Spock," Jim said to his first officer as an afterthought. "Make sure you go to sleep. You may not need as much as us, but-"

"Your concern has been noted Captain. I will make sure I sleep for a sufficient amount of time."

"Ok. Good night Spock," Jim said and made his way to his own temporary quarters aboard the station.

"Good night Captain." Jim heard the soft reply from his first officer as he reached the door.

Jim didn't think he was asleep for anymore than two hours (even though it had been well over five hours) before he woke up to his communicator blaring. He didn't even remember answering.

"Captain!" Scotty's voice rang out over the link. There was more static than the last time they had spoken, but the Scotsman was still heard loud and clear. "There is some kina ion storm forming around the space station. It's starting to block off communication to the station, I kina believe I managed to get a hold of you!"

"So what's your report Mr. Scott?"

"We're trying to figure out how long the storm will last, but it's just forming and steadily growing bigger and bigger. It doesn't look like it's gonna move anytime soon."

"Ok Scotty. Put a stop on the transporter. I don't want anyone getting hurt. I'll alert every one down here. Hopefully this storm ends soon so we can actually enjoy our shore leave."

"Aye Captain." Scott's voice crackled over the comm.. "But I dinna think ya understand. The storm isn't forming _around_ the station. For all our scans, it looks like the storm is forming _in_ the station! We've tried to contact Captain Decker, but the storm is so close to the bridge that our signals kina get through."

"Wait," Jim was wide awake now. He hurriedly swung his legs over the side of the bed and began to pull on his pants. "The storm is inside the _station_? How is that possible?"

"I dinna sir!" Scott's voice became more difficult to hear over the static. "The storm is at the base of the station sir. With the bridge right over top of it, I can't get a hold of anyone on the darn station!"

"I'm on it Scotty. Keep me posted if you can. If you can't get through to me, try Lieutenant Uhura or Doctor McCoy. Kirk out."

Jim pulled his crumpled gold command shirt on and darted for the door. _Below the bridge. That's the lower lab. That's where Spock is._ He flipped open his comm. and sent an urgent call to Captain Decker relaying all what Scott had told him about the signal coming from the lower labs. Hopefully Captain Decker could meet him in the lower labs. He doubted that the bridge on the station was anything but calm.

He knew it was futile, but while he was waiting for the turbo-lift doors to open, he tried to reach Spock on his communicator. Unsurprisingly, the communicator beeped at him to let him know that a connection could not be established. He wasn't surprised. He stepped into the turbolift and ordered the lift to the lower lab.

As the machine began to hum, he wished it would move faster.

x.x.x.x.x

Spock couldn't believe the readings he was seeing.

As he had started piecing more and more of the artifacts together to build what looked like an intricate machine, he noticed there seemed to be rising levels of radiation. He had then proceeded to program his scanners to monitor multiple readings that allowed him to observe the radiation at a more detailed level.

From what he could tell, the literal space he was occupying was becoming unstable on a molecular level. It seemed impossible, but if he hadn't been able to see the objects in front of him, he would have thought that the lab itself were starting to disappear. The readings were not making sense, but they were extraordinary.

All other sensors were indicating that the space in the label was experiencing an ion storm. _Inside of the lab_. It was fascinating. Spock had never seen or heard of anything like it. For a brief moment he thought about what if the room did actually collapse on a molecular level. What would happen to him? He decided it would be fascinating to see it personally.

Leaving the sporadic readings on the scanners, Spock returned to the table that held the artifacts. The glistening pieces of metal were humming on the table, so loudly Spock didn't have to strain his ears to hear it. Spock thought it was silly, but he felt like he could feel the air vibrating with the energy radiating from the artifacts. Although he knew the likelihood of that was slim to none.

He had a very basic image in his head about what the finished product of the machine would look like. There were many pieces that were missing and would not allow for the completion of the machine, but he would be lying if he said the idea of finishing the entire machine didn't excite him. And Vulcans do not lie.

As Spock slid another piece into the half-built machine, a cloud of heat grew under his fingertips and the computer started beeping wildly, indicating that the radiation was beginning to reach hazardous levels.

And then something happened that Spock couldn't quite explain.

When he moved to the computer console to ensure that the levels were not reaching levels that would actually be harmful to his physical state, the air seemed to physically flicker. Spock was not one to believe in anything other than the physical world on a very logical and understanding level. However when the air seemed to sway so violently that it ripped the air from his lungs, Spock was unable to deny that something was amiss. Even as the scientific side of his brain demanded that he continue with the machine, the more primal side wanted him to rip the machine apart and abandon the room. He decided that fleeing was not logical and until he felt in danger he would not abandon this project.

Then the air flickered violently again, and when Spock glanced up to eye the machine, for only a second, he was staring at himself. It had only been a moment, but it had seemed that there had been a mirror in front of his eyes. He had been staring at himself for that one fleeting moment.

Now his brain was trying to determine if he were hallucinating because of the rising energies in the room, or if there could have been a shimmer radiation that caused a mirror-like effect. However logically he tried to process it, he couldn't deny the icy cold feeling that ran through his body. He identified it as fear. He steeled his Vulcan teachings against such an emotion. Something fascinating was happening, and Spock couldn't allow his basic instincts to ruin it.

Spock moved back to the machine. There was only one artifact left on the table, and Spock was determined to fit it onto the half-built machine. He would have been lying if he didn't hesitate on the last piece. And again, Vulcans do not lie. But as he picked up the last slender piece of the machine, Spock once again could not deny the excitement. He only hoped he would not require any more of the pieces to find out exactly what the point of this machine was.

Without allowing himself enough time to contemplate the consequences, he maneuvered the last piece of the machine into the slot which it was meant for. And when it clicked into place, the heat coming from the machine became too much, even for a Vulcan who was genetically built to withstand extreme heat. In fact, the heat was so great that Spock staggered backward away from the machine.

The air began to hum again, this time far more violently than it had before. There was a low whine reverberating in Spock's ear causing a slight pain in his skull. His hands moved to shield his ears from the offending noise. Despite the pain, Spock noted that the machine was beginning to emanate a bright light from its center. The air flickered again, and Spock could see himself again, across the room. It was if he were staring into a warped mirror. He could see himself, hands covering his ears against the noise, his brow pinched with the effort of keeping his eyes open against the growing blinding light, but at the same time he couldn't help but think, _that is not me._

He was not wearing a black uniform. He was currently wearing his blue science tunic. This "mirror" image of himself was not completely accurate. The only logical conclusion was that this was not him. His brain immediately began to run through a list of possibilities. Parallel universe. Alternate plane of existence. A warped time loop perhaps. The possibilities were endless.

"Spock!"

Spock turned at the sound of his voice being called. He had not heard the door to the lab hiss open, but it must have happened because his Captain was standing at the entrance, his arm raised against the blinding light emanating from the machine. Spock tried to call out to him, but somehow he could not find the strength to use his voice. What would Spock have said? That out of sheer scientific fascination, he had possibly caused the destruction of the station, and of everyone on board?

The whine of the machine grew incredibly high and for a moment, Spock thought the blood vessels in his brain were going to explode. Then came the silence. Spock had enough time to lift his head to see his counterpart on the other side of the machine. He assumed he must have had the same look on his face. Fear, bordering on horror at what was coming next.

_Boom!_

As Spock crashed to the floor, he assumed this was what a sonic boom must have felt like. There was a terrible crack in his ear which he assumed was his ear drums exploding. The room felt like it was spinning. All of the different sensations were becoming overwhelming.

"Spock?"

The Vulcan lifted his head to see his Captain also sprawled on the ground, a trail of blood oozing from his nose and his ears. Grimacing from the pain throbbing in his temple, Spock lifted himself into a sitting position.

"Captain, are you alright?" Spock could taste coppery blood as he spoke. He could only assume that the intensity of the boom from the machine had also ruptured a blood vessel that caused his nose to bleed, as it had done with the captain, who was struggling to sit up himself.

"I'm ok Spock. What the hell _was_ that?" Jim said as he raised himself off the ground. The computers in the room were blaring at each other in blind confusion. Jim gripped the edge of the door and tried to pull himself up. Spock of course, was already on his feet.

"I am not sure Captain. I would need to examine-"

"_Please refrain from moving any farther."_

Spock turned around as quickly as he dared. His eyes landed on the reflection he had seen. The mirror image of himself had a phaser leveled at him. His eyebrow shot into the air. He stared dumbly at this…other Spock.

"I am Commander Spock of the _USS Enterprise._ Who are you?" He spoke calmly, although calm was _not_ what he was at this moment. The counterpart hesitated for a moment, almost taking a step back.

"You are…I am Lieutenant Spock of the _ISS Enterprise._" The other Vulcan responded in a slightly confused tone. Noticing the wary glance that the 'other' Spock had given him, Spock repeated the action. He started with the phaser in his hand. This phaser looked nothing like the one that he himself carried. It looked sleeker, yet somehow more intimidating. The uniform was also completely different. The shirt was mostly black, throat high, with solid red lines down the sides, across the shoulders and down the sleeves. There was a solid gold sash tied firmly around his waist.

"Captain," Spock addressed the blonde human without taking his eyes off of his counterpart. "I believe I know 'what the hell happened.' It appears we are in an alternate Universe. Perhaps even a parallel Universe."

The other Spock's eyes flickered side to side as he evaluated Spock and the Captain who looked incredibly like his Colonel Kirk. Based on the limited facts, he could not help but to agree with his counterpart. Evaluating the stance of the other Vulcan, Spock lowered his phaser. The likely hood of the other man attempting an assault on him was less than 8.9 percent.

"What?" Jim said as he staggered upright and looked up to see two Spocks standing in front of him. He blinked his eyes slowly and deliberately. In fact he even rubbed in eyes just in case somehow radiation had affected his vision. But when he looked up, there were two almost identical Vulcan officers standing in front of him. "Parallel Universe. Got it."

For a moment there was silence.

"Captain…Kirk?" the 'other' Spock said timidly, looking at the blonde man. Jim stared dumbly at him before nodding mutely. The Lieutenant's fingers began to twitch nervously as he futily attempted to calculate possibilities and odds in his head. For the first time in a very long time, he had to admit it was giving him a slight headache.

"I believe it would be wise if I contacted the Colonel." Was all the 'other' Spock said as he tapped a Starfleet shaped badge on his left breast. The beep rang loud to announce it was on. "Lieutenant Spock to Colonel Kirk. Please report to lower lab of Alpha-3. I believe you will not believe me if I attempt to explain what has happened."

There was no immediate response. Then came an angry voice.

"_What the _fuck_ are you doing down there Spock_?" Spock knew the Colonel was angry. But Spock believed this was worth possible time in the Agony Booth. "_The whole god damn station is flipping out_. What did you do?_"_

"Colonel, please report to the lower lab of Alpha-3." Spock began repeating his earlier response. "I believe-"

"_Yeah Spock, I heard you the first time. Give me a damn minute. It better be good, or I swear I'm going to activate your collar and listen to you scream for at least a god damn hour. Kirk out."_

Spock was not worried about his Colonel's threat, although the heavy collar around his neck did seem to tighten at the words. His counterpart, in the bright blue tunic was staring at him with a raised eyebrow, but the Lieutenant saw no reason to think it was threatening. As he continued to stare at the other occupant, the blonde human who looked like the Colonel was wiping away the blood from his nose. Spock determined there was a 94 percent chance that the Colonel would not punish him for this. He turned to his counterpart.

"May I make a personal inquiry?" When his counterpart showed no outward sign of rejection, Spock continued. "Do you play chess?"

x.x.x.x.x

_Bullshit._ _Bullshit. Bullshit._

It was all Jim could think. He thought his head had hurt when he had met Spock Prime. I mean, changed timelines, old wise Vulcans from the future, it had all been hell when it had first happened. But this? _Another Spock?_ How many of them were there? It was starting to get confusing.

He listened to the two Spock's as they indulged in what humans would call 'small talk.' Jim never thought he would see the day where Spock did it, never the less _two_ Spocks. To each other.

_I'm dreaming._ Jim decided. _I'm having some terrible nightmare._

He knew it wasn't true.

So to keep his mind off of the presence of two Spocks in the same room, Jim began to examine the computers in the room and turning off the emergency protocols. No point in making his headache worse. Although his ears hurt like hell. If it wasn't for the fact that he could hear the two Spocks conversing to each other, he would have thought he busted an ear drum. It was when he reached the center of the room, where the machine sat, tall and sleek just as Spock had predicted it would be, did he notice that the entire section of the room looked like two dollhouses had been smashed together. The computers in the center had been smashed into identical computers that were situated opposite them.

"Spock." Jim called. He ignored that both of the Spocks turned their heads to him in a creepy-twin kind of unison. "I don't think we're _in_ a parallel universe. I think we smashed _into_ a parallel universe." He motioned to the mashed together consoles. Jim eyed the machine in the center of the room.

"It's like right here is where the universes crashed together. It's why the consoles are mashed together. They were trying to occupy the same space but-"

"Since two objects cannot exist in the same space, they were entangled." The 'other' Spock piped up, sounding almost excited. Jim just stared at him, baffled. He could see it now this was going to take some getting used to. He was saved from having to answer the other Spock when the 'other' door to the lab slid open, and in walked a man who looked terrifyingly like Jim. He could already feel the headache intensifying.

"Well Spock, what is it? If you blew something up-" the 'other' Kirk began spouting. He was situating a gold sash around his waist, one identical to the one the 'other' Spock wore.

"Hi." Jim interrupted. The 'other' Kirk looked up and froze. That was when Jim noticed the large scar across the man's left cheek. He couldn't help it. "Oh my god! My face!"

And then there was a phaser in his face. _Dammit._

"Spock. _What the fuck?_" The scarred version of Kirk snarled without turning to the Vulcan. The Vulcan Lieutenant immediately stood and moved towards them. "Colonel, they are non-violent, there is no need for-"

"_Shut up._" The 'other' Kirk snarled without taking his eyes off Jim. He then addressed his doppelganger. "Who the _fuck_ are you?"

"Hi," Jim repeated lamely, lifting his arms in a show of surrender. "Captain James T. Kirk of the _USS Enterprise. _You?"

The Colonel seemed to take a moment to digest those words.

"Bullshit." The Colonel replied, the phaser still dangerously close to Jim's face. Even though the other man interrupted him, he didn't seem to quite believe his own denial.

For a second that was how they stood, crystal blue eyes staring into identical ones. Finally the phaser lowered. "Colonel James T. Kirk. _ISS Enterprise_. How the fu-"

"Parallel Universe," Jim said simply. There was no point in making small talk. And Jim was already sick of the other man's overly vulgar language. Just then, a voice piped from behind them.

"Alternate Universe." The 'other' Spock corrected. He stood straight, his arms straightened rigidly by his sides. He was staring at the Colonel, his eyes a little too wide and his lips a little too tight for Jim to think it was Spock. _His_ Spock. _His _Spock never looked _that_ uptight.

"What?" Colonel Kirk asked in a harsh tone, finally glancing over at the Vulcan. He seemed overly agitated with this version of Spock, although Jim couldn't figure out why.

"A parallel universe is defined as 'a universe that is separated from another by a single quantum event.'" The 'other' Spock said, sounding as if he were reading straight from a book. Jim couldn't help but to share a glance with his Spock. Jim was starting to see so many differences he began to wonder if all Vulcans in this universe were…off. Sure, Jim always made jokes about Spock sounding like a computer when he spoke, but it wasn't really true. Spock spoke in a calm and right-to-the-point tone. The _other_ Spock…well, everything he said just sounded as though he were reading out of a textbook.

"Based on the information I have gathered on their universe," the 'other' Spock said, glancing almost nervously at his counterpart. "I believe there is more than one alternative event that caused our universes to differ. Thus, parallel universe is an incorrect term-"

"Shut up, Spock." The Colonel said dismissively at the other Vulcan, who immediately closed his mouth and adverted his eyes. Jim noticed that his Spock raised an eyebrow at his timid counterpart. "Parallel Universe, Alternate Universe, it doesn't matter, does it?"

Lieutenant Spock did not answer. The Colonel sighed harshly and glared at Jim, who was taken back. Without another word the 'other' Kirk moved toward the 'other' Spock, keeping an eye trained on Jim's Spock. After a brief staring contest, Spock moved away from the 'other' Spock and moved to stand next to his Captain. After deciding that they weren't a threat, the colonel stepped close to the Vulcan Lieutenant, gripping his chin hard and tilting his face upward.

"You're bleeding." The colonel stated simply. The 'other' Spock attempted to reach his hand up and dapped at the drying green blood smeared under his nose, but the 'other' Kirk smacked his hand away. Jim tried not to notice that his first officer flinched a little.

The colonel tilted the other Vulcans head side to side, inspecting the dried blood that had dribbled out of the pointed ears. He sighed irritably once again.

"What did you do?" Kirk muttered, suddenly much softer than he had previously spoken, although Jim wouldn't have described it as kind.

"I assembled the artifacts into a structured form," the 'other' Spock muttered quietly. His eyes were tilted down purposefully towards the floor, careful to never look at the other man.

"I meant, why are you bleeding Spock?" the Colonel said matter-of-factly as he glanced at their two counterparts.

"They are non-violent." Spock muttered firmly. "When the universes melded, something similar to a sonic boom occurred. I theorize that the sound of the barrier the kept our universes apart breaking down was what caused the sonic boom to occur. The sudden pressure increase could have caused slight internal bleeding."

"In your brain." The Colonel said, frowning deeply at the other Vulcan. After a brief hesitation, the 'other' Spock nodded timidly. The colonel rolled his eyes and sighed for the umpteenth time. "I'll call Doctor Chapel."

He turned to their counterparts.

"I recommend you call your CMO as well. I doubt you'll want Miss Chapel to examine you for internal bleeding in the brain." The Colonel said simply and without any further explanation. It was after Jim and Spock had moved to their side of the lab that the Colonel turned his back on them and tapped the badge on his chest.

"Colonel Kirk to Doctor Chapel."

There was silence. After a pause, he tapped his badge a little harder.

"I _said_, Colonel Kirk to Doctor Chapel."

"_She's not here."_ Came the male response. Kirk failed miserably at keeping the irritation out of his voice.

"Where is she, Doctor McCoy?"

"_Dealing with Doctor M'Benga. He tried to corner her in her office. Her orders were she was not to be disturbed._"

"That's unfortunate for M'Benga. Tell her I need her in the lower lab."

"_Her orders in the event of you needing her were to tell you to 'fuck off,' _sir."

Kirk pinched the bridge of his nose, hard. He really did try to reign in his temper, but when he thought of McCoy having the satisfaction of saying 'fuck off' to him, it really became quite a challenge. Although he had no doubt that Chapel had actually given the order. McCoy knew better than to make it up and he had been receiving quite a bit of complaints about M'Benga as of late. Apparently the Agony Booth just wasn't getting the point across.

"Fine, McCoy. Then _you_ report to the lower lab. Bring your emergency med kit. You have three minutes or you'll be in the agony booth for an hour and little David McCoy won't get to speak to his father tonight."

There was silence over the comm.. For a moment Kirk thought the Doctor was going to test him. Oh, how he would enjoy that.

"_Three minutes. Aye, sir. McCoy out."_

Kirk didn't even try to hide his shark-like grin. If he saw how Lieutenant Spock shivered, he didn't comment.

Over on the other side of the room, Jim was talking into his communicator.

"Yeah, possible brain bleeding. That's all." Jim tried to sound unconcerned as he ordered Doctor McCoy to the lower lab.

"_You-what? Brain bleeding? What did that hobgoblin do?!"_

Jim sighed. "Please Bones. Just come down here ok? It's complicated."

There was a pause.

"_Alright, kid. I'll kick your ass after I make sure you're not gonna die from a brain hemorrhage."_

"Thanks Bones." Jim smiled. "Kirk out."

x.x.x.x.x

"So if you are from an _alternate_ universe, what's so different about you? Besides those ridiculous uniforms." The Colonel said, distastefully eyeing the bright gold tunic his counterpart wore. Jim scowled at the other man.

"Says the guy wearing a gold sash." Jim sneered. They were waiting on their respective Doctors to get to the lower lab and they had decided to see just what "quantum event" had caused their universes to differ.

Just as the 'other' Kirk opened his mouth to reply to his smart-mouthed counterpart, 'other' Spock interrupted, this time shocking everyone in the room.

"Nero is the one who destroyed Vulcan in their universe. Not you, Colonel."

For a moment there was dead silence and all Jim could do was stare at this scarred version of himself.

"Wait…what does he mean, 'not you?'" Jim asked, almost breathless. Surely it didn't mean…

"The _ISS Enterprise_ was responsible for the destruction of Vulcan," Kirk said easily, his brows furrowed at his counterpart. He couldn't understand why the other man looked so shocked. "I gave the order myself. Happily watched it collapse in on itself, taking all those worthless rebel Vulcan bastards with it."

This time the silence stretched. Jim just stared open-mouth at the other man. He couldn't imagine himself standing on the bridge of the _Enterprise_ giving an order to destroy an entire planet. He also couldn't imagine referring to an entire race as 'worthless.' He turned away.

"I'm done." Jim said, walking across the room to slump in a chair on his universes side of the room. For a moment he harshly rubbed at his eyes, still hoping this was all some kind of sick nightmare. When he opened his eyes and looked at his first officer, who looked more than a little disturbed, Jim decided he needed to do something. He looked at his counterpart. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"What?" The 'other' Kirk snapped irritably. "You wouldn't have wiped them out if you had had the chance?"

"No!" Jim snapped. Before Jim could start rambling about the destruction of Vulcan and his thoughts on the cold murderer in front of him, his first officer stepped between them, his gaze fixed firmly on the Colonel.

"The destruction of Vulcan is the most devastating event to happen in the Federation since it was formed," Spock said calmly, if not a bit coldly. "I can only presume that our universes are vastly different, if a human willingly destroyed our planet."

There was a tense moment where Colonel and Commander stood, glaring at each other. Finally the Colonel grinned crookedly at the Vulcan, as if there was a joke in what Spock had said.

"The Federation?"

Before Spock could inquire, there were twin _swoosh_ noises as both doors to the lab opened and two McCoy's stepped in with almost identical medical kits, followed by two almost identical versions of Carol Marcus.

It took a few moments for the new arrivals to notice there was two of everything in the room.

Then there was a loud, piercing scream.


	3. The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter Three: The Calm Before The Storm

x.x.x.x.

"I won't do it."

T'Pol tried very hard not to let her shoulders sag in relief.

She could remember very clearly the day that Empress Hoshi Sato I had announced to a small group of her closest advisors that she had planned to infiltrate the other Universe. It had not been a memorable day, but it became memorable when T'Pol had been promoted to Grand Marshal and assigned the leader in the project.

"Build a machine that can rip open a door straight into the heart of their Federation," The Empress had told her, a slightly off glint in her eye. It was at that moment that T'Pol was not sure if joining Hoshi Sato had been one of the smarter things she had ever done. "I've seen what those people are like T'Pol. They are weak. We can conquer them easily. All we have to do is get to the other side."

But T'Pol had not agreed with it, and she had used all her power to slow the progression, but in the end, the machine had been built and launched.

The machine had been built out of artificially made Amphillicite, which had shown in several studies that it could break down the thin barrier that separated the Universes, but it was always a very small window that never stayed open for very long. There could be no conquering if there was no way to invade the other universe. T'Pol had almost started to hope that the project would be terminated.

She was wrong.

One of the scientists under her command, Doctor Harold White had devised a plan to cross into the other world, and although it probably would take decades, the man was overly confident that it would work. He explained to her in a very animated fashion that from their side of the Universe the machine could only hold the barrier open for a few seconds.

"It's like trying to lift up a hover car with your bare hands," the Doctor had told her, his hands waving wildly in the air. "You may be able to lift it for a moment, but the weight will be too much and eventually you will drop it. You must have another person helping you lift it on the other side. In our case, we need another machine_, on their side_."

Unfortunately there were not enough minerals to create more Amphillicite. It was not possible to build a second machine. However it _was_ possible to break their machine in half. The Doctor theorized that the Amphillicite would cause the machine to be powerful enough that if it were built in the same place on both sides of the Universe, the temporal attraction would link the machine together through the barrier and thus holding it open. This would create a bridge between the Universes and the Empire would be able to invade the other side.

T'Pol had wished it hadn't worked.

They had activated the machine and wired it to explode nanoseconds after the barrier was open and sure enough, before the tear in the barrier closed, the force of the explosion forced some of the pieces of the machine to enter the other Universe. The unexpected radiation that was produced afterwards prevented the Empire from collecting the pieces that remained.

When T'Pol tried to calculate the odds of the plan actually working, considering all the possibilities, it made her head ache with stress. She had planned on asking Hoshiko, the second Sato Empress to abandon the mission and order Kirk to disassemble the machine. She was more than prepared to provide logical arguments about why invading the other universe was pointless. She was also seriously considering begging. She did not plan on Hoshiko agreeing with her.

"I won't do it," Hoshiko repeated, staring intently at T'Pol, who nodded silently. Hoshiko sighed and leaned back in her throne. Her mouth was pulled down into a frown and there was the slightest furrow between her brows.

"I was cloned right before Sato I died," she said softly, staring at nothing and no one in particular. "When I came out of that cloning chamber, it was like she had never died. I was her. You know, they say our DNA changes based on our experiences in life?"

T'Pol said nothing, but a small part of her began to wonder just where this topic of conversation was leading.

"I was her when I was first created. But I am no longer her. I have learned from her arrogance." Hoshiko stood suddenly and made her way to stand by T'Pol. Her gaze was cold and hard. "The Cardassians are trying to form an alliance with the Bajorans. If the Bajorans decide that the Empire is no longer whom they wish to serve, then we will have more than just a small nuisance of a rebellion. We will have war."

T'Pol nodded. She knew all of this to be true. The Bajorans were most likely going to align with the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. They promised that Humans and Vulcans would be enslaved and the Bajor government would be equal to the Klingon Empire and the Cardassian Union and all Bajorans would have_ rights_.

Bajor was very useful territory. They could not afford to lose it to the Alliance.

"You and I both know that Bajor will join the Alliance," Hoshiko said, voicing what T'Pol had already thought. She shrugged as if unconcerned. "And when that happens, I cannot have half my fleet buried in an alternate universe. As my predecessor said once, 'they are weak.' I have no use for weaklings in my Empire."

T'Pol once again nodded, relief settling in her chest. If the Empress did not want war with the other Universe, then it would not happen. She tried not to look too pleased. The Empress seemed to have her own strange way of rationalizing illogical actions.

"I'm giving you your official orders Grand Marshal T'Pol. You are to order Colonel Kirk to have his team disassemble that machine and avoid any further contact with the other Universe. I'm sure plenty of damage has already been done, and we need to prevent further damage. Give the orders. The machine is to be shut down and brought back to Terra."

T'Pol nodded. "Yes Lady Sato." She bowed. The Empress smiled a cunning smile at her and touched her face gently. She leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss on the older Vulcan woman's lips. When her cheeks flushed a pear-hue, the Empress giggled to herself and returned to her throne. T'Pol shook her head gently, trying not to seem flustered in any way.

Both T'Pol and the Empress were unaware of the third woman in the room who, after hearing the entire conversation between the two, slipped quietly out the door, a plan all its own building in her mind.

x.x.x.x.

"I should have known that was going to happen," Jim said as the ringing in his ears faded. He pressed lightly on his ears, just to make sure they hadn't begun to bleed again. He tried to smile reassuringly at Carol, who had her hands clamped over her mouth in horror, but her gaze was focused on her counterpart-twin on the other side of the room.

It had taken Carol a moment to realize that the other woman in the room looked exactly like her. The longer hair, bright red lipstick, and exposed mid-drift had thrown her completely off, but her face was almost identical.

She couldn't say what had come over her when she felt that immediate burst of horror that had caused her to scream and cower behind Dr. McCoy. If it wasn't bad enough that there was another version of her, there was another of Dr. McCoy, another of the Captain, and another of the Commander. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to scream again.

"Mother of Terra, could you scream any louder?" The Colonel said, his brows furrowed. He noticed that Lieutenant Spock was gently touching his previously bleeding ears. He scowled at his counterpart's version of Carol Marcus. The girl seemed far too meek for his brain to realize that it was _Carol Marcus_ that he was looking at. Maybe everyone was the opposite over there. After all, in the other Universe, he didn't destroy Vulcan, Spock wasn't retarded, and Carol Marcus seemed almost shy and innocent. He tried not to laugh at the thought.

"There's only one way to find out Colonel," he heard the sultry voice of _his_ Carol Marcus behind him. He turned in his seat to glance at her. She stood there obediently by McCoy's side as she always did, her hands resting on her hips, fingers only an inch away from a concealed weapon. At this point he was used to the lewd comments from her. She knew he had no interest in her, but she kept up the snide comments anyway, which he normally allowed her to get away with.

"You don't look too surprised, considering the circumstances." He said off handily. It was true, she was gazing at their counterparts across the room as if they were boring people you meet on the street, and not from another universe.

"Well," she said, her bottom blood red lip stuck out in some kind of mock-pout. "Considering we've lost almost all communications with the _Enterprise_, I assumed you were up to something pretty big down here."

"_Almost_ all communications?" Kirk said, swerving his chair to face her. She smiled sweetly at him, her teeth glowing white.

"Captain Scott has managed to hack his way through the dock port and get into Alpha-3's mainframe. He has to go back and forth between the computers, which are time consuming, but do-able."

"So were we just called down here to see your little freak show?" The 'other' Doctor McCoy asked. The bags under his eyes were dark and heavy, and the scar that ran across the bridge of his nose and down his cheek sat bright and ugly in contrast. He looked more irritated than anything by their counterparts.

The man did not look happy. It made the Colonel smile.

"McCoy, if you think _this_ is a freak show then you clearly haven't been in Miss Marcus' quarters." He grinned crookedly at her. It seemed only he could appreciate back handed comments. He ignored the way Carol shifted her legs just slightly enough that her skirt rode upwards about an inch, exposing a nice portion of her thigh. He kept his eyes on the dagger that was now practically in her hand.

"Examine Spock for any internal bleeding." He ordered McCoy, not taking his eyes off of the Doctor's blonde bodyguard until he was sure she wouldn't do anything stupid. When she folded her arms across her chest, he tried to give his counterpart a reassuring smile, although he was sure it just looked like he was baring his teeth because his counterpart didn't seem reassured.

Eyeing his blue-shirted counterpart, the 'other' Doctor McCoy walked lazily to where the Vulcan Lieutenant sat, his fingers rubbing together furiously from anxiety. It only took a second for him to analyze the situation, not that there was much to put together. The doctor's unmarred counterpart was scowling at him.

"You know what?" The blue-shirted McCoy said. "I don't even want to know."

Doctor Leonard McCoy stepped closer to his Captain, who for once, sat patiently still and allowed the Doctor to examine his head without nearly any of the fuss he normally got. The doctor carefully logged his readings in his tricorder as he began to examine the frontal lobe.

"So far so good," McCoy muttered to himself, mentally going over each reading before it was fully catalogued in his tricorder. "Carol can you hand me the diagnostic scanner?"

A few seconds passed.

"Carol?" McCoy turned to see their version of Carol Marcus still frozen, her arms wrapped around her middle, gazing at their counterparts on the opposite sides of the room. She didn't even seem to hear him call her name. Leonard sighed. The poor girl was in shock. He took a deep breath.

"Doctor Marcus," he snapped harshly. The younger woman flinched and whipped around to face him. She was clearly startled and Leonard did feel bad about it, but he needed her focused. When he had her attention, he gave her a soft smile. "Care to look over the Commander?"

Shaking her head softly as if to shake off the last of her fear, Carol grabbed her medical tricorder and stepped up to the Commander, who sat straight and rigid in one of the comm. chairs when she motioned to it. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she detached the wand from the tricorder and began carefully running it over Spock's skull.

Leonard had been showing her an assortment of different things around the Sickbay, one of them being how to use a tricorder. Leonard had complained that since Christine had transferred off the _Enterprise_, he didn't have a competent nurse to help him. Carol had happily volunteered, although she admitted that she didn't know nearly anything about medicine. Leonard had been patient about teaching her, but he had never actually let her do anything more than do scans and catalog readings. She was okay with that.

It wasn't until she turned her head ever so slightly so that she could see the readings on the tricorder did she realized that the 'other' Kirk was staring intently at her. She felt herself freeze, but she tried to contain her spike of fear. She took another deep breath, so deep her chest actually ached with the effort, and let it out nice and slow. She mentally steeled herself and carried on scanning and reading the tricorder.

He didn't stop staring.

"You are doing exceptionally well, Doctor Marcus." The Commander spoke softly, startling her so bad she almost dropped the tricorder wand. She tried to smile at the compliment. It wasn't everyday you got one from a Vulcan. He could probably smell her anxiety. Or he could see how the 'other' Kirk's gaze was affecting her.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" Carol started, but paused. A quick glance at her tricorder told her that the 'other' Kirk was still staring. She shook her head and tried to ignore it. She could already say that she didn't like the 'other' Kirk at all. She wasn't quite sure what it was about him staring that made her uncomfortable. After all, Captain Kirk had seen her in her underwear and it hadn't bothered her a bit, but the 'other' Kirk…he just seemed _off_ somehow, she wished she knew how to describe it. All she wanted was to get away from those eyes. It was becoming too much.

"Can I help you?" Carol suddenly snapped, her scan forgotten. She straightened and turned to face the 'other' Kirk. She normally wasn't one for outbursts but this man just freaked her out. Although looking at his face terrified her, the fact that he hadn't stopped staring at her for over two minutes just irritated her. It was an interesting combination of emotions.

"Is that an accent?"

Well she hadn't been expecting _that_.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked, blinking slowly. The hair on the back of her neck stood at the shark-like smile he gave her.

"_Definitely_ an accent." He said.

"Sweetheart," the 'other' Carol Marcus called over to her. Carol realized almost immediately that her counterpart didn't sound British at all. "I wouldn't beg his _anything_. It's not worth it."

In fact her accent sounded almost sounded North American. Carol decided she wasn't going to acknowledge her counterpart in any way. She turned back to Commander Spock and continued her scans.

"If you'd like to ask a question that's fine," Carol said, addressing the 'other' Kirk without looking at him. "But you don't have to stare. It's rude, you know?"

"Absolutely," the Colonel replied, but he didn't stop staring. Carol sighed and tried to ignore it, she really did.

"So," the Colonel began, his eyes still on her. "Why do you have an accent?"

Carol sighed again.

"I grew up in London. To me _you're _the one with the accent," she said a bit coldly. It seemed her irritation was slowly beginning to overcome her initial fear of the man. If it hadn't been for him looking identical to her Captain, she most likely wouldn't have feared him at all. Her irritation grew when he chuckled.

"Lieutenant Marcus," he said, tilting his head to look at his version of the woman. "I thought you grew up in California?"

"I did." The Lieutenant replied, her eyes now fixed on her counterpart. She too had wondered about the accent, but the mention of London had her intrigued. "My mother moved to London when I was six. I fought like hell to stay with my father in California."

"Such a Daddy's Girl," the Colonel sneered at her, his shark grin firmly in place. Lieutenant Marcus gave him a death glare, as if he were referring to some hidden secret only known to the two of them.

Now it was Carol's turn to look intrigued. She glanced at her counterpart, still completely uncomfortable with the other woman. "I tried to stay with my father, but he insisted I move to London with my mother. Something about the schools there if I remember correctly."

"Perhaps that explains the difference in our fashion sense." Carol said a bit distastefully. She of course was comfortable with her body, but she didn't think it too appropriate to wear practically nothing at all, a view her counterpart obviously didn't share. Carol couldn't see herself wearing such a bulky necklace either. "Your sense in jewelry could use a bit of work."

Lieutenant Marcus sneered.

"Oh, you mean the collar?" the Colonel piped in.

"Collar?" Carol said, momentarily distracted as she exchanged her tricorder for a cellular regenerator to heal the damage done to Commander Spock's inner ear drum. She wasn't too concerned on what they called it. She was more focused on setting her equipment up correctly so she didn't melt Commander Spocks brain.

"Yeah, the collar that means I _own_ her?" the Colonel said. He honestly was starting to get bored with these people. He needed to get under _someone's_ skin.

"Wait, what?" Captain Kirk yelped suddenly, unable to help himself as he looked at his counterpart, somewhat stunned. He had previous held no part in the conversation, even if his counterpart was acting like a small child who wouldn't behave. He had seen no reason to throw his two cents in, until now. He ignored Bones who muttered a quick _Dammit Jim, hold still._

"Is that even legal?" Jim said, looking at his first officer. Spock remained silent, but cocked his eyebrow as if to say _I have no idea_.

"Yes. And it's better than being imprisoned for treason." Lieutenant Marcus muttered, her eyes dancing with amusement.

"_Dammit_ Jim! I said hold still! I'm almost done." Leonard snapped at the Captain, who kept moving his head. "All I have to do fix up your ear drums. That was the cause of the bleeding. Lucky for you there is no rupturing in your brain. So, _hold still._"

Jim got quiet and sat patiently at the cellular regenerator buzzed in his ear as it stitched together damaged muscle that had been blown apart by the sonic boom. When the buzzing stopped, the dull ache in his skull was gone. Jim sighed happily.

Leonard handed Jim a damp cloth to wipe the dried blood from his face. He then turned his attention to the 'other' Kirk. Leonard moved across the room until he was standing directly in front of the seated man and glared at him hard, his arms crossing.

"You say another word to her, and I'll make you eat your teeth. We clear?" Leonard growled. He wasn't one for aggressive confrontation, but the way the 'other' Kirk had purposely tried to provoke Carol had just pissed him off. He had been raised to respect women dammit. It made him feel better that the 'other' Kirk just gawked at him.

When the Colonel composed himself, his face was hard. He looked as if he were going to reach up and strangle the Doctor with his bare hands. There was a tense moment where the two men just stared down each other, waiting for the other to budge. When it became clear that neither one was going to do that, the Colonel gave the Doctor a tense and obviously forced smile.

"Crystal, Doctor." The colonel bit out.

"Good." The Doctor said, as if he were praising a small child. As he walked back to the Captain, Leonard noticed the look that the 'other' McCoy was giving him. It was an interesting mixture of respect, hatred and horror. Leonard wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about that.

x.x.x.x

Major Penda Uhura was not in a good mood.

She had been happily preparing for her reunion date with Lt. Colonel Sulu when the entire station had erupted into chaos. An unknown power fluctuation had completely shut down all communication with the ships that were docked, transporters were shut down, and the entire crew was at each other's throats.

She stepped into the turbo lift and practically punched the button for the bridge. She hoped Decker was dead by the time she got to the bridge. All she wanted was a nice dinner and fantastic sex. Was it too much to ask for?

When she stepped onto the bridge, several of the officers gave her a second glance. She growled at an Ensign who had the gull to look at her with his mouth open. She felt a surge of satisfaction when he yelped and scurried away to his station.

"Why Major, you look stunning." Came a familiar voice. Penda sighed harshly, not even attempting to hide her irritation. She had _really_ hoped he'd be dead by the time she had gotten here. She turned to see Captain Decker leering at her. She immediately wanted to rip his face off and watch him bleed to death on the floor. She opened her mouth to tell him exactly what she thought about his unwanted comments, but she was cut off by another male voice.

"I have to agree with Captain Decker, Major. You _do_ look amazing."

Penda turned to face the center of bridge. Seated confidently in the captain's chair was Lieutenant Colonel Hikaru Sulu. He was smiling at her. She flushed and shifted nervously. They hadn't seen each other in two years. This was _not_ how she wanted their reunion to be. She wasn't presentable. Her hair wasn't brushed properly and she barely had any make-up on. Her only comfort was that if she truly had walked on the bridge looking awful, Sulu would have told her blatantly. So she didn't look _that_ bad.

She straightened her back and moved to her station, ignoring both men. She settled in her chair and began testing all of their communication links. If she saw how Captain Decker was shifting his hard stare between her and Sulu, she chose to ignore it.

"Captain," Penda offered after a few minutes on the links. "We are unable to establish contact with any of the starships in dock, nor can we establish any stable signal with the lower decks of the station. We are obviously not receiving any messages either. There is an active frequency that is being projected that is jamming everything up."

"Can you trace it?" Decker asked, glaring at Lt. Colonel Sulu, who was still firmly seated in his chair.

"Negative," she responded. "Everything is shot. We're waiting on Engineering to get the systems up and running again."

"Dammit," Decker muttered to himself. He pressed the badge on his chest. "Colonel Kirk, this is Captain Decker. Have you reached the lower labs?"

Silence.

"Colonel Kirk," Decker tried again, more firmly than before. "Please respond."

More silence. Decker growled to himself. Sulu stood from the Captain's chair.

"Major Uhura," he said. "It seems you and I will have to go and find the Colonel." Sulu looked at Decker, as if expecting the man to challenge his order. When the man just pursed his lips and didn't say anything, Sulu nodded to the Major who stood. They made their way to the door.

"Captain," Sulu addressed Decker. "I assume you will be able to keep everything under control here?"

The Captain nodded tensely.

"Good."

With that, the two officers made their way off the bridge. They weren't half way down the corridor before Penda found herself pinned against the wall with the man's mouth over hers. She enjoyed it for as long as she dared before she broke away from him, panting.

"This dress really does look amazing on you," he muttered heavily in her ear, his fingers playing with the hem of the long silky dress she wore. She tried not to smirk. She failed.

"With all due respect sir," She said, licking her lips. "I'd like to change into something a little more decent if we're going to track down the Colonel."

"I'm okay with seeing him get overly jealous," Sulu said in his most convincing tone. She tried her best to frown at him. She didn't think it was too convincing, but she tried.

"Well, I'm not okay with that half-breed abomination of his getting to look at me when I'm in uniform, much less when I'm looking my best. It makes me sick just thinking about it."

Sulu sighed. "You do have a point there. Fine, you get into uniform and I'll go find Chekov. If Kirk is dead, he'll want to spit on the body at least."

Penda chuckled darkly. "That kid really hates him, doesn't he?"

Sulu said nothing. He pulled her close and laid a soft kiss on her lips. "I promise I'll make tonight up to you. Since we were so rudely interrupted."

"Interrupted by a stupid half-breed. How the hell did he even cause a surge that powerful?" she said, scowling. The lower labs logs showed that at the time of the power surge, Spock was the only one down there. Since the signal came from there, she doubted it could have been anyone else.

"If there is one thing I've learned about Spock," Sulu said thoughtfully. "Is that he is his most unpredictable at the most inconvenient times."

Penda sighed and moved towards the lift. "Go find Chekov while I find pants." She said simply as she stepped into the lift. As the doors were sliding closed she called out to him.

"You had better make this up to me. _Before_ you leave would be nice." She said, getting to see his sheepish grin before the doors snapped closed.

Sulu tried not to feel bad. The last time he had said he was going to make something up to her, he had been assigned to the _Enterprise_ and had left for a mission the next day. He shook his head to himself as he moved down the corridor to find Chekov.

"God, I love her."

x.x.x.x

"Lieutenant Uhura, are we able to establish any communication with the lower labs?" Sulu asked the communications officer. She shook her head furiously, her eyes focused on her screen, switching from comm. link to comm. link trying to connect to each one.

"We've lost communication with the _Enterprise_ and all other ships."

"There's a jamming signal coming from the lower labs," announced Lieutenant Zahra, who had temporarily taken it upon herself to help Lieutenant Uhura with the communications, even though she was only a security officer.

"We have to go down there," Nyota said suddenly. She turned to Sulu. "We can't contact anyone. Spock or the Captain could have been hurt and they can't get a hold of us."

_She's right_. Sulu thought to himself. Even if he thought she was just sharing her opinion as a worried girlfriend (he couldn't help but think back to Nibiru), she made a very valid point. The last they heard of the Captain had been Commander Scott telling them he was headed to the lower labs to find Commander Spock. Then the power surge had happened, and now they couldn't get a hold of anyone.

"Okay," Sulu said, standing. He turned to Captain Decker, who was pacing around the station's bridge, looking thoughtful. "Captain Decker, we're heading below to see if we can find the Captain. While we're there, we'll see if we can figure out where the jamming signal is coming from."

Decker nodded. "I'm giving you an hour Mr. Sulu. After that I'll have to send someone after _you_. I really hope I don't have to do that."

"Captain," came a sudden interruption from a brunette woman who staggered onto the bridge. She wore a white lab jacket and a bright blue tunic and pants under it. Her medical badge stood out on her chest. "Have you heard from Doctor McCoy? I can't reach him. He said he spoke with Captain Kirk and had to report to the lower lab. He said something about brain damage-"

"Nurse Chapel," Captain Decker snapped. "A bit slower, please?"

The brunette nurse nodded. She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Doctor McCoy left for the lower labs about an hour ago. I've been trying to contact him to see if he's needed any assistance, but I can't reach him."

"We were just discussing that. McCoy spoke with Captain Kirk? About an hour ago?"

"That's right after the power surge hit. Perhaps the signal isn't jamming out going messages." Lieutenant Zahra said thoughtfully.

"No," Nyota said. "It's most likely the jamming signal has made a barrier around the lower labs. From within that barrier they may be able to establish a comm. link, but we can't penetrate the barrier. Which means we can only send a message if we're down there."

"Lieutenant Uhura," Captain Decker spoke. "I want you, Lieutenant Sulu, and Lieutenant Chekov to the lower labs. Zahra, you're on security detail. If your theory is correct Lieutenant Uhura, I want a confirmation message. I recommend wearing a radiation suit, just in case."

As all the listed officers began to make their way toward the turbo lift, Nurse Chapel began to follow them. She stepped in line with Lieutenant Uhura.

"Christine," Nyota said, noticing the other woman. "My god, you're a brunette."

The nurse chuckled. "Yeah. I thought a change would be nice, you know?"

"I didn't know you were transferred to a space station. I thought you would go on another starship."

"No," Christine said. "It reminded me too much of…never mind. I'm just worried about Doctor McCoy." She said hurriedly at the look she received from the communications officer.

"Of course," Nyota said. "Don't worry, we'll let you know when we get down there. I'm sure they're fine."

Christine nodded. "I should get back to sickbay. Just in case something bad happened. I want to be able to help."

"It'll be fine," Nyota tried to reassure the other woman before stepping onto the turbo lift and nodding a good-bye. Christine nodded and turned away. She was rounding a corner before the lift doors slid shut.

x.x.x.x

"A weapon's specialist? I'd kill for that kind of job." The 'other' Marcus said.

Somehow Carol didn't think the other woman was joking.

The two women were currently circling the large machine in the center of the room. They were attempting to discover everything they could about the machine, but it was proving to be a difficult task. Lieutenant Spock stood off to the side, watching the two women carefully, his finger tapping rhythmically against each other.

"If you aren't a weapons specialist, then what is your job?" Carol asked, curious. She kept her eyes on her tricorder, careful not to be distracted and miss a reading.

"Bodyguard." Marcus replied. "There are plenty of officers in that Sickbay that would happily kill him, which is such a shame considering how talented he is. Although, despite her best efforts, Doctor Chapel can't always be around to protect him. As the C.M.O. she has more responsibilities than babysitting.

"After I was arrested, Kirk figured I could be useful as a body guard, so he bribed someone, or several someone's and had me released to him. Although, I don't actually have a rank. He calls me Lieutenant out of habit I suppose."

"You were arrested? For what?" Carol asked, gazing at the other woman as if she had grown a second head.

"In our world, the Terran Empire is led by the Sato Dynasty. There are plenty of Terrans who believe that the Dynasty needs to be overthrown before they run the Empire into the ground. There are a few rebellion factions in her government that are slowly infiltrating ranks to take over. My father decided to take a more _drastic_ approach. I helped him, thinking he was going to actually succeed. If it hadn't been for Kirk, he probably would have.

"After Kirk took over, I was arrested, tried for treason and sentenced to death. I still don't know who exactly he bribed, but the next thing I know, I've got a collar around my neck and I'm babysitting an overly-depressed doctor."

"I _can_ hear you," the 'other' McCoy called to the two women. He was currently organizing various medical tools on a small table on the 'other' side of the room. Both McCoy's had expressed a similar interest in performing medical exams on their counterparts. Unfortunately, neither doctor seemed completely comfortable with allowing their counterpart to perform the exam.

Somehow Carol and her counterpart had been volunteered for the exam.

"I know," the 'other' Carol called back, her voice as sweet as thick molasses. The 'other' McCoy scoffed and rolled his eyes. He then turned to his counterpart who was more than content to allow his tools to remain in his medical kit. "Well, are we doing this?"

"Sure thing," Leonard replied. He straightened himself and called to the blonde women. "Okay, we're ready."

"Yay!" the 'other' Marcus squeaked, hurrying to her counterpart's side of the room. Leonard noticed that his Carol was a little more skeptical.

"Darlin,'" the 'other' McCoy assured her. "If I was gonna hurt you, I would have done it a long time ago."

The 'other' Spock had inched his way closer to where the four of them had gathered. When Leonard frowned at him, the Vulcan Lieutenant merely stared at him and said in a robotic tone, "I am to observe your examinations to ensure no harm comes to either patient or doctor."

Leonard rolled his eyes, and motioned for the awkward Vulcan to sit. It took him a moment, but finally the Lieutenant settled in a chair and watched with wide eyes as the doctors began their examinations. Leonard picked up his medical tricorder from the table and turned to his 'patient.'

His patient who was stripping her clothes off.

"H-hey!" he stuttered, suddenly embarrassed. "N-no darlin,' you don't have to…"

"Lieutenant," the 'other' McCoy interrupted. "You're not being examined by M'Benga. It's not that kind of exam. _Put your clothes back on._"

The 'other' McCoy looked pointedly at his counterpart's Carol Marcus, who was sitting rigidly on one of the tables they were using for the exam. He held up his tricorder for her inspection. When she nodded, he moved close to her and began running the wand around her body, starting with her head and neck.

"Do I _have_ to?" the 'other' Carol mock-whined, practically purring at her counterpart's McCoy, who was blushing furiously. He tried his hardest to focus on that fact that he was just being a _doctor_ dammit, who was just performing an _exam._ Seeing a woman in her undergarments shouldn't have him blushing like a prepubescent school boy. Even if those undergarments were lacy and semi-transparent.

It would have been a lot easier if she didn't have Carol's face. He may have bitten Jim's head off once or twice when he made jokes about him and Carol, after all he was almost a decade older than her, but he'd be a damned fool of a liar if he tried to say he didn't find her attractive. She was smart, beautiful, and she had one hell of an accent. She was practically a walking wet dream as far as his lower appendages were concerned.

And her doppelganger was standing here in her underwear, running her tongue slowly over her bright red lips, looking the image of perfect sin.

_He was a doctor dammit!_

Leonard decided to do the doctor-ly thing and advert his eyes from the woman in front of him until she was decent.

"Yes, you have to Lieutenant." He said in his most stern voice that was normally reserved for Jim. He made the mistake of trying to give her the stern look as well. He felt his gaze slack when she slowly bit her bottom lip and smiled.

"But I don't think you want me to," the 'other' Carol purred in a low voice, stepping close enough to McCoy that her breasts grazed his chest. He tried not to flush, but she kept doing that _thing_ with her tongue.

Before Leonard could begin to stutter out some form of response, someone had grabbed the 'other' Carol and yanked her away from him.

"If you could stop acting like a slut for five minutes that would be _fantastic._" Colonel Kirk growled softly to her. His fingers were digging into her bicep with such a blunt force that neither of them doubted there would be bruising. He could tell she was trying to relax her face as to seem indifferent, but he saw the way her eyes flickered nervously when he tightened his grip. The blonde man leaned forward until his lips brushed her ear.

"Now be a good girl and put your clothes back on, or I'll make sure everyone knows just how much of Daddy's girl you really were." He hissed cryptically. He pulled away from her and looked in her eyes, waiting to see the realization of his words as they hit her. She didn't disappoint him. He had to hand it to her, her face was calm and collected, unwavering, but her eyes watered for a moment, one small salty trail brushing her cheek before she nodded.

"Yes sir," she whispered obediently, not trusting her voice not to break. He smiled at her with his shark grin and released her arm. She knew he only grinned like that when he could smell the blood in the water. She crouched quickly and yanked her skirt over her hips and her shirts over her head.

"I'm not coming over here again," the Colonel said to her as a warning. She nodded and pulled herself up on the desk that was serving as an examination table. As the man walked away, she brushed her fingers over her cheek unconsciously. The tear that had fallen had dried quickly, but she couldn't afford any of them to see her weakness.

Leonard stood, staring as the 'other' Kirk strode back to opposite side of the room when he and the Captain, as well as Commander Spock were attempting to establish contact with various people. He wasn't quite sure what had just happened, but despite the stunned look on _his_ Carol's face, the 'other' McCoy hadn't once looked away from his tricorder to watch the exchange between the Colonel and the Lieutenant.

Leonard decided to follow his counterpart's example. He picked up his tricorder and began his exam, trying not to meet the gaze of the 'other' Carol, not realizing her eyes were firmly trained on the floor.

x.x.x.x

Carol couldn't help but feel embarrassed, for both herself and Doctor McCoy. She wasn't an idiot. She was aware the Doctor liked her, but after what had happened with Christine and the Captain, she wasn't sure she wanted to go there with Leonard. He was a rather handsome man. It was just a shame they worked together. If a relationship didn't work out, then their jobs would suffer, and that was just unacceptable.

To take her mind off of her counterpart's more embarrassing actions, Carol took a deep breath and focused her gaze on the tricorder wand that was waving over her face. It was slim and shiny and flashing a small blue light as it scanned her brain waves.

She gasped. Without thinking about it, her hand shot forward, gripping the wrist of the 'other' McCoy tightly. She gazed at the tricorder wand in a stunned shock.

"Oh my god," she muttered to herself. She recognized it. It wasn't just a tricorder wand, it was a wand belonging to the latest model of medical tricorder. Carol had been keeping a close eye on its development, as she was planning on pulling as many stings as she could to get one for Doctor McCoy once they were finished. Except they weren't finished yet. The wand was complete, but the smaller and slimmer hand-held display device was not. She glanced to the machine in the Doctor's other hand. It looked just like the drawing plans for the new model.

"Where did you get this?" she asked the 'other' McCoy, her eyes looking over the wand in his hand. He scowled at her and looked as if he were going to say something to her, but was interrupted by another voice.

"_Let him go._"

Carol looked up, alarmed to see her counterpart with a dagger to Leonard's neck. For a moment she was stunned into silence. She looked to the 'other' McCoy for some sort of explanation. He just stared at her, a bored expression on his face.

Leonard tried not to groan. Not five seconds ago he was scolding himself for not being professional with Carol's doppelganger, and now she had her ankles locked behind his back and a dagger to his throat. That would have all been well and fine if he hadn't still been half-hard. Now it was just awkward because he knew and she knew. And the way she grinned at him a little wasn't helping. He closed his eyes tight and tried to think of the most unattractive thing he could think of.

"I said, let him go," the 'other' Carol said again, her face hard as she looked at her counterpart, who had her hand wrapped around the wrist of the 'other' McCoy. She couldn't see her counterpart's other hand as Doctor McCoy was in the way. Her counterpart seemed to finally understand what she was saying as she released the doctor.

The 'other' Carol looked up at the McCoy she had caught between her legs, a hard _something_ poking her thigh. She grinned at him. Then she pulled the dagger away from his neck and unwrapped her legs from his waist. He stumbled backward, scowling at her. Before she could think of anything witty to say, the collar around her neck sprung to life, a heavy electric current making its way up and down her spine.

She didn't even realize she was on the floor screaming.

It seemed like an eternity before the pain finally stopped, and even when it did stop, the muscle spasms didn't. She just laid there on the floor, gasping, her arms trying weakly to push herself up.

"I _really_ didn't want to do that." She heard the Colonel's voice behind her. She hissed. He sounded almost _bored_.

"Are we done?" the Colonel asked. He clearly wasn't talking to her. Even as she pushed herself up on her knees, she didn't bother to defend herself in anyway. She just seethed quietly to herself on the floor. One of the McCoy's must have nodded, because he muttered a "good" and she heard his footsteps get quieter as he walked away.

"Get up." She heard the gruff voice of her Doctor McCoy. She looked up and saw the familiar scarred face. She smiled weakly at him. He sighed harshly, reached down and pulled her to her feet. He practically dragged her to the table that had been previously occupied by her counterpart and lifted her onto it.

"You idiot," he scoffed at her. She smiled.

x.x.x.x

The before bedtime habits of Empress Hoshi Sato II were not a well-known, public fact, but for Hoshimi, the Imperial Princess, she could recite everything her 'mother' did before bed.

Her routine normally began right at dinner. Their last meal of the night usually consisted of both Hoshiko and Hoshimi sitting at the dining table, neither one speaking. They would eat their meal in silence while Grand Marshal T'Pol stood off to the side quietly observing them, but pretending not to.

After dinner, Hoshiko would retire to her bed chamber, most nights accompanied by T'Pol. After various possible activities, T'Pol was normally dismissed to her chambers at the end of the hall, her head mussed up and her clothes not quite on properly.

Then the Empress would bath in a tub of hot water fragranced with lavender and sage. The steam would fill the washroom and if the door that led to her balcony were open, one could see the steam wafting out into the cooler night air.

After her bath, the Empress would open the doors to her balcony (if they were not already open) and settle herself in front of her large vanity mirror and brush her hair. Most nights she would brush her hair until the damp strands were dry using a brush with bright green bristles. This was her favorite brush, an heirloom from the first Sato Empress. If truth be told, the brush was crafted from Le-Matya bone, and it's bristles were delicately crafted from the bright green and yellow hide. As the story goes, T'Pol gifted the brush to the first Hoshi Sato as a gift to show her allegiance.

After her hair and been brushed, she would then dress for bed, normally choosing a long and flowing silk or lace night gown. No matter which she chose, any member of any species would admire the ethereal glow each gown gave her.

Most nights before the Empress would crawl into her bed, onto sheets that had been dirtied by the presence of a Vulcan, she would swallow two bright blue pills. These pills would help her sleep through the nightmares she frequently had.

Hoshimi knew all of these things. She had gazed into her 'mothers' room often enough to learn exactly what she did every night, when she thought she was alone. This night, Hoshimi sat patiently in her room, far enough inside that the darkness swallowed her and she wouldn't be noticed by Hoshiko if she happened to glance across the wide empty space that separated their balconies and their rooms.

Hoshimi watched as her 'mother' swallowed her bright blue pills.

Then she let her lips lift upward, her teeth glowing in the moonlight that shone down on their palace. She grinned up at the moon, for a moment envisioning herself as a wild wolf-woman, ready to go on the hunt for fresh, coppery blood.

With the feral image still burning hot in her mind, Hoshimi stood and carefully made her way out of her room, and across the many corridors, until she was close to the Empress' bed chambers.

The moonlight came down through the glass windows in the hall, casting shadows across the floor and up the wall, each delicate detail of architect casting another random inky line across hall. The princess was careful as she slid past the room that belonged to the Grand Marshal. T'Pol was not stupid. She would eventually begin to suspect what Hoshimi was up to, but she planned to catch her completely off guard.

When she tested the knob to the Empress' room and it turned completely, Hoshimi was ecstatic. She didn't think that Hoshiko would lock the door, but she would never underestimate her 'mother.' Clicking the door softly shut, Hoshimi made her way into the room, going straight for the large four poster bed that sat in the middle of the room.

The woman in the bed was breath taking.

Hoshimi climbed delicately into the bed, careful to shift her weight with each dip, as to not wake the other woman. She finally reached the sleeping woman. Lifting her own night gown gently as to not upset her weight, Hoshimi lifted her leg and straddled herself over the sleeping Empress, gazing down at her still form. It was true, they were clones and so they looked identical. As Hoshimi stared at her clone mother, she could see herself sleeping in the bed. This wonderful, beautiful life of being the Terran Empress belonging to her. Looking at the face that was identical to hers, it was not at all hard to imagine.

Hoshimi kept that image firmly in her mind and she grabbed the nearest plush pillow and shoved it over the face of her counterpart.

Despite the effect of the pills, there was an almost immediate violent reaction. The body of the Empress began to thrash wildly. Hoshimi leaned all her weight forward, clutching the pillow hard, ignoring how the finely trimmed nails of her 'mother' clawed at her arms and her face, desperate the push her off balance to gain just one tiny breath of air. Hoshimi would have none of it. As she struggled to retain control over the violently thrashing woman beneath her, she began to focus on the fact that once this was over, she would be Empress.

She would be the one to bath in lavender and sage, in water so hot it steamed up the night sky. She would be the one to brush her hair with a brush made from an endangered animal. She would be the one called beautiful by all in the universe. She would sleep peacefully in her bed, resting easy and looking the image of perfection.

Suddenly the hands that were clawing at her grew slack.

Hoshimi pushed down harder still, making sure that the woman below her could not breathe anything but her own fear and terror. After a few extra seconds of holding the pillow firmly on the face of her clone, Hoshimi removed the pillow.

The face of the Empress was slack. Her eyes were open and lifeless, staring at nothing. Her mouth was opened slightly, trying to gasp for breath. Even like this, even in death, she was beautiful.

That is what made Hoshimi smile. She slowly let herself glide off the bed, her eyes fixed to the death woman lying in the tangled sheets. When Hoshimi no longer doubted that death had claimed her clone, she grinned her wolf grin and began to dance around the room, laughing wildly.

For just a moment, she indulged in her wild, primitive victory dance, then she forced herself into silence. There was no sense in waking T'Pol. No sense at all.

Hoshimi blew a dramatic kiss to the full moon glowing above them. Then she sat herself behind the vanity mirror that her 'mother' had sat at every night. She reached down and delicately picked up the Le-Matya brush. For a moment she just stared at the bright green bristles in the moonlight.

Then she leaned forward and rearranged her hair carefully over her shoulder and began to run the bright green bristles through her hair, gently brushing. After a few beats, she began to hum, almost pleasantly into the darkness.

"Empress Hoshi Sato III," she said dreamily to herself. "I am the Empress Hoshi Sato III…"


End file.
